


A Howling on the Wind

by SilverRowan_Ivy630951



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Captain America Steve Rogers, Christmas, Clint and Natasha’s candy stashes, Crying, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Fluff without Plot, Halloween, Happy Ending, Howling Commandos’ great-grandchildren, Hurt Steve Rogers, M/M, Minor Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, New Year's Eve, POV Bucky Barnes, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Team as Family, Thanksgiving, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:55:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 28,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27263107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverRowan_Ivy630951/pseuds/SilverRowan_Ivy630951
Summary: This is a Holiday fic. Each chapter will be a new holiday. There is no real plot here. Or maybe each chapter is its own plot.Overall story summary: Steve and Bucky discover after years of being in the 21st century that they have a family. This is about their holidays from that point forward.Check chapter 1 Table of Contents for individual chapter summaries and which holidays have been posted.P.S. The rating for this story shoots up to E in Chapter 4.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 48
Kudos: 91





	1. Table of Contents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I decided to add a table of contents so that you could see a summary of each holiday chapter without any trouble. Halloween is now Chapter 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is the idea to write something for each holiday but we'll see if that happens. Each chapter will be posted close to the holiday it's for.
> 
> Also, I'm listing this as complete even though I've got more chapters planned because none of the chapters are really related. There's no plot to speak of and each section is finished at the end of the chapter.

**Chapter 1** : Table of Contents

 **Chapter 2** : Halloween

  * Bucky and Steve are staying in a safe house while Steve recuperates from injuries. But there's something that they forgot. And, when they think the night's over, they're in for a surprise. 



Note (12-29-20): I know this chapter title reads as Table of Contents. It's supposed to be Halloween but, every time I change it, it just switches back. The 5th time has not been the charm so I give up. I'm too sick for this shit. Go read Chapter 2: Table of contents, a.k.a. Halloween. 

**Chapter 3** : Thanksgiving

  * As Bucky and Steve prepare for their family to come over for Thanksgiving, two friends come to visit.



**Chapter 4** : Christmas (Rating shoots up to E)

  * When Tony wouldn’t take no for an answer, the Howlie clan’s Christmas is moved to the Tower. Tony, wanting Steve and Bucky there to celebrate the holiday, is not expecting that. Neither are the other Avengers. There’s surprises, story time, sneaky supersoldiers, sexy time, shenanigans, and, throughout it all, sweetness. Also Hulk. Let’s not forget Hulk.



**Chapter 5** : New Year's Eve

  * Steve and Bucky drag themselves off the quinjet after a long and smelly mission. They just want to sleep. Unfortunately, the others won’t stop knocking.



**Chapter 6** : Valentine's Day

  * Steve is away on a mission. Bucky isn’t very happy about that but he’s resigned himself to spending Valentine’s Day alone. Until Natasha and Clint show up to drag ‘the grumpy single’ out, that is. But, apparently, their idea of ‘out’ is setting Bucky up on a romantic blind date. Surprise…



**Chapter 7** : Mardi Gras

  * When Tony announces that he’s throwing a masquerade ball for Mardi Gras, the boys decide to plan a secret mission. They will have to be perfect if they want to pull it off without anyone being the wiser. With the help of Gabe and Dum Dum, they’re ready just in time. But will the night go how they think?




	2. Table of Contents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky and Steve are staying in a safe house while Steve recuperates from injuries. But there's something that they forgot. And, when they think the night's over, they're in for a surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post a Table of Contents for Chapter 1 so Halloween moved to Chapter 2. Check out individual chapter summaries under Table of Contents.
> 
> TW: Brief mention of human traffickers. Natasha is on a mission to take them down.

**Chapter 2: Halloween**

_Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Bucky got up from his comfortable spot in front of the fire and made his way to the front door. Grabbing up his wallet up as he went, he pulled out enough cash to pay the pizza delivery person as well as enough for a healthy tip. Still looking down, he opened the door.

“Trick or treat!”

His head jerked up and his brain just stalled. “Uh…” Before him stood half a dozen little girls and boys ranging in age from what looked like five to ten with a girl in her late teens there to supervise. “Hey, Steve?” he called into the house, not taking his eyes off of the demented-looking clown, tiny Batman and even smaller Iron Man, Wonder Woman, a girl that Bucky decided was possibly Doc from Back to the Future—or maybe someone who stuck her finger into an electrical outlet for Science!—and some kind of caveman who was trying very hard not to shiver in the gusty wind. “What’s today’s date?”

“I don’t know. I lost track when I got hurt,” came the distracted reply from the living room. “Why?”

“It’s Halloween, mister,” the bored teenager said. She didn’t even look up from whatever she was typing on her phone.

Okay…

“If you give me,” he told the kids, thinking about it for only a second, “five minutes, then I can give you all treats.”

A few of the children looked disappointed but the little boy in the Wonder Woman costume smiled at him like sunshine. Bucky couldn’t help but grin back. Squatting down after pulling off his sweater, he motioned for the blue-lipped caveman to step forward. He wrapped the boy up to keep him warm while they waited then went in.

Closing the door, he said to Steve, “Where’s Nat’s candy stash she hid?” He knew she had one. Natasha was a fiend for candy, the same as Clint. She was just better at hiding it. And her candy.

He went to Clint’s go-to spot no matter the building and pulled out bags of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Tootsie Rolls—some of which he was most _definitely_ eating—and something called Caramel Apple Pops.

“You know she’s going to kill you if you steal her candy,” Steve pointed out. He did his best to twist and see Bucky without actually moving and aggravating his wounds.

“It’s Halloween, Steve. And this is New York City. I am not disappointing dozens, possibly hundreds of children on Halloween. I’ll take my chances with Black Widow. Who I trained. And practically raised. Even if I was so fucked up, I don’t actually remember it.”

“Tonight’s Halloween? Damn. She’s got three candy stashes here. One under the floorboards in the bedroom, the fourth most likely Natasha-spot, one in the bathroom air vent protected from heat and humidity by that Stark-made box Dummy gifted her when he had that crush, and one in the family-size brussel sprouts bag in the freezer.”

Bucky scrunched up his face in disgust. “Brussel sprouts.” He affected a shiver. He hated brussel sprouts.

“And that is why she hid it there,” Steve told him, amused.

Bucky hunted up Nat’s candy—Twix, Kit Kats, and Snickers in the bedroom, Dum Dums, Jolly Ranchers, Candy Necklaces and Bracelets, and Twizzlers in the bathroom, and an assortment of Dove and Ghirardelli chocolates in the freezer. He also listened to Steve getting his crutches and slowly making his way up off the couch. By the time Bucky had it all dumped into a giant bowl, with the nut candies in a separate, smaller one, Steve was down the hall and opening up the front door.

Bucky dragged a kitchen chair along behind him for Steve to sit on, knowing he would be stubborn and refuse to go back in and sit down.

“Hi,” Steve said to the children as Bucky came up behind. The six he’d left had become twenty in the short time he’d been gone.

When Steve spoke and everyone realized who he was, they all got quiet for exactly five seconds. Then noise exploded around them as everyone vied for attention. They all wanted to be the one to speak to Captain America first, not even thinking about candy anymore.

Bucky watched it all with a patient smile until there was a tug on his pants leg. Looking down, he saw the caveman he’d given his sweater to. The thing engulfed him to the point that Bucky could hardly see his costume. But his lips were no longer blue and he wasn’t shivering anymore so he counted it as a win.

When the little boy tugged at his pants leg again, Bucky squatted down. Being a step up in the doorway, it put them eye to eye.

“Are you the Winter Soldier?” the little boy asked. He snuck a glance at Bucky’s left arm, light glinting off the silver prosthetic from both the house and street.

Bucky thought about how to answer that. It was complicated. The Winter Soldier stood for so much bad in the world… But his kid didn’t look like he knew about any of that so Bucky made it as simple as he could. “Yeah, I was. I am.”

The kid’s face lit right up. “You’re my favorite Avenger! You’re like my mommy.” He tentatively reached out for Bucky’s metal hand as he said that.

Bucky reached out in turn, letting the boy touch. Something warmed in his heart. His eyes threatened to tear up and he looked away to the side.

He accidentally met Steve’s eyes and there was a softness there, like he knew just what this kid’s words meant to Bucky. He probably did. Steve was there for his good days, but also for his bad ones. He pulled Bucky back to the here and now when he couldn’t quite manage it himself. Steve held him after his nightmares.

Bucky forced back the burn of tears before they could fill his eyes and looked back to the little boy. “Your mommy sounds like a very wonderful mommy.”

“She’s a hero like you.”

Something in him adamantly rejected being called a hero but he didn’t deny it to the boy, seeing no need to tread on his feelings. Instead he changed the subject. “Would you like some candy?”

The boy smiled shyly and reached for a Reeses cup. Before he backed away, though, he surprised Bucky with a quick hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. When he touched Bucky’s prosthetic again, it felt like the kid was thinking him, not for the candy, but for something else entirely. Afterwards, he stood off to the side to wait for the others in his group.

Everyone collected a piece of candy—a few doing a poor job of sneaking more than one—and then left.

Bucky went to close the door but, a moment before the latch clicked, that same little caveman ran back over. “Wait!” he shouted. Bucky opened back up and looked down questioningly. “Your jacket.” The boy took it off and held it out. It wasn’t even five seconds before he was shivering again.

“Keep it,” Bucky told him squatting back down to his level. “Looks like you need it more than I do.”

“But…” the kid looked conflicted.

“Tell you what,” Bucky said, as if he were negotiating an important deal. “If you do me a _big_ favor and tell your mommy that she’s _my_ hero, then you and she can keep my sweater.”

The little boy looked so serious when he nodded that Bucky almost smiled.

“Now put that back on and go join your friends. You’ve got some more candy to hunt up, caveman.” Bucky ruffled the kid’s hair and watched him run off.

Closing the door and blocking out the wind until the next group of kids, he turned around and leaned against the door. Again, he accidentally met Steve’s eyes as he sat on the kitchen chair.

“I love you, Buck,” he said softly. He had the most beautiful look on his face, one that Bucky had never been able to define but loved to pieces. It always made his heart thump hard in his chest.

In response to the words—and partly to try to cover his light blush—Bucky went forward and kissed him. After a moment, there was another knock at the door and they both sighed and smiled.

Knowing Steve as he did, Bucky didn’t bother opening the door himself. He just helped him to his feet.

While Steve dealt with shocked gasps and awed children’s whispers, Bucky nudged the chair as close to the door as it would go without getting in the way. Then he pulled out his phone.

**Apparently tonight is Halloween. S & I had to steal yours and C’s candy so we don’t disappoint all the kids. We’ll replace it.**

While he waited for a reply from Nat, he leaned against the door frame and watched the parade of ghosts, goblins, pumpkins, comic book superheroes, real-life superheroes, and all manner of other things come to the door. A few recognized him but most were entirely focused on _Captain America_ , even the parents. Bucky couldn’t say a part of him wasn’t grateful for that.

Natasha texted him back.

**That’s fine. Tit for tat, tho. I borrowed ur fav gun.**

That…

**It got destroyed. I’ll replace it. :)**

Bucky answered fast, half angry, half annoyed.

**How is that IN ANY WAY comparable to CANDY? What kids would’ve been disappointed if you hadn’t brought my gun with you?**

Nat’s reply was quick and to the point.

**The ones stolen by traffickers.**

There was no good response Bucky could send after those brutal words. He felt like shit for his previous indignation. And, anyway, even if he’d had a reply, his favorite gun was already gone. She’d said it was destroyed so there was nothing he could do about it. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust her to replace it with one equally good or even better. He knew she would.

He breathed deep, settled himself, and let it go. He sent one last text before pocketing his phone.

**I’m sorry.**

Somewhere in the middle of handing out candy to increasing numbers of children—had word spread about who was at this particular house or was this many trick-or-treaters normal?—the pizza delivery guy arrived. Bucky tipped him well because he had to work on Halloween when he’d probably rather be out partying.

Three hours, four pizzas, and eight beers later, things had pretty well wound down. It was a quarter past eight and they’d had a grand total of one group of five knock on their door in the last fifteen minutes. Steve had moved back into the living room to more comfortable seating when the hour hit and there was no longer constant knocking.

Another quarter of an hour went by with no one coming to call and Bucky figured they were done for the night. Popping the caps off beers nine and ten, he brought the bowls of remaining candy into the living room for him and Steve to share. They were already going to buy Nat and Clint new stuff so why not finish off the rest of what they had?

He’d just handed over the bottle of beer and sat down when there was another knock at the door. Steve, the stubborn cuss, started to rise again.

“Sit your ass back down, Rogers. It’s probably not even trick-or-treaters considering how late it is now.”

Steve grumbled grumpily but did as he was told.

Bucky made his way to the door, bowl of candy in hand, just in case. Opening it, he got the most recent shock of his long and shocking life.

Before him, stood the most realistic-looking group of Howling Commandos Bucky had seen since the war. They looked like they’d stepped out of the middle of a mission. Everyone was dirt-smudged and battle worn. They had tears and bloodstains on their scarily-accurate clothes. They looked like they’d stepped right out of one of Steve’s drawings from back in the war. They only thing they were missing was—

“Trick or treat,” a teenaged boy said softly.

Ticking his eyes to the voice, Bucky’s eyes watered. The boy looked almost exactly how Bucky imagined Dum Dum would have at seventeen or eighteen. Looking at the rest of the kids, Bucky saw other similarities to the past. Gabe’s eyes and chin, Morita’s nose and mouth, a wiry build and stance that reminded him an awful lot of Monty; Dernier’s chin and smile, the tilt of Dugan’s blond head and cocky grin.

“Hey, Steve?” Bucky called out unsteadily behind him. “You need to come here.”

He heard the quiet click of a beer bottle set on the end table, and then Steve’s crutches drag and clunk against the floor and couch. He was not stealthy with them _at all_ , especially not when he was trying to be quick.

It wasn’t long before he was hobbling down the hallway to the door. When he got there, when he stood behind Bucky and looked over his shoulder, it took him a second to fully take in what they were seeing. Bucky could tell the second he did because there was a sharp indrawn breath and a shaky exhale.

“We’re putting together a team,” the gangly eleven or twelve year old girl said. She was dressed up as Gabe and looked so much like him that Bucky’s heart ached. “And we thought you might like to help us fight some Nazis.”

“Maybe save the world a time or two,” the boy dressed as Monty added.

On the heels of his words, ones that echoed so strongly in Bucky’s head that it was like they’d been dredged up from a long-forgotten memory, four black SUVs pulled up to the curb. Upwards of sixteen men and women climbed out, some more slowly than others. When the vehicles pulled away and the last of the people turned around, a choked, almost pained sound escaped Bucky’s throat. Behind him, Steve made nearly the same noise.

Like a sleepwalker, like a ghost, Bucky stumbled his way down the porch steps to the nearest of his friends. He stepped into right into Dum Dum’s open arms. Sobbing, tucking his face into his neck, Bucky was only dimly aware of someone going past, pausing a moment to gently grip his shoulder before heading for the house.

“They told us that everyone—” A harsh hiccup interrupted his words. “They told us that Peggy was the only one left. And when she died…”

“We should’ve known when we didn’t hear from either of you,” Dum Dum murmured against Bucky’s hair. His arms pulled surprisingly tight around him and they swayed ever so slightly. “I’m so sorry.”

The weight of those words, everything that they encompassed, only made Bucky cry harder. It was more than five minutes before he could even attempt to look up and see his friend. Tim reached a shaky hand up to wipe the tears from Bucky’s face. “Come, now, Sarge. Don’t cry. Everything’ll be okay.”

“It’s been years. We’ve been back for _years_. They could’ve told us.” Bucky pulled back to wipe at his own face. “Hell, I was the Winter Soldier. I could’ve looked.”

“Don’t. Don’t do that to yourself. You thought we were dead. What would you have done, visited our graves?”

“Maybe.” But even he could hear the lack of conviction in his voice.

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Buck. You had to take care of yourself. Now. Come on and help me up those stairs. You’re pretty spry for being older than me.”

“Would you like me to carry you up bridal style, Tim?” Bucky said with a watery grin.

“Ooh! Yes, please!” Dum Dum gushed, batting his eyelashes comically. “I’ve always wanted to know what it felt like to be carried over the threshold.”

Bucky couldn’t help but snort at that. It turned into a real laugh when he actually picked Dugan up and caused him to squeak. “I was kidding, you numbskull!” he shouted. But he still laughed as Bucky carried him up the stairs and into the house.

“Did you fall down and get a booboo, Pop Pop?” a tiny voice asked when they reached the living room.

Everyone looked over as Bucky carefully set Tim on his feet again. “No, sweet pea,” he told her. “Your Uncle Bucky was just being silly.”

The words ‘Uncle Bucky’ zipped right through him like electricity. One look at Steve’s face told him he’d gotten the same jolt.

It only lasted a second, however, because it was replaced with more crying when he saw Gabe. Bucky stumbled over to him and was wrapped up in a hug much like he had been with Dum Dum. His tears were quiet this time, for which he was grateful. He remained aware enough to know that the house was full of people he didn’t know, even if they seemed to know him.

“I’m sorry you weren’t told,” Gabe whispered into Bucky’s ear just loud enough to be heard over the conversations around them. “I’m sorry we surprised you like this.”

Bucky could only shake his head weakly and try not to hold too tight. Across the room, he heard Dugan telling Steve near to the same thing.

He’d rather know they were still alive. He didn’t care that they’d dropped by unexpectedly. He knew that Steve felt the same way. He’d missed his friends dearly. They both had. Them not being told wasn’t either Tim’s or Gabe’s fault, anyway. They would be taking that up with the correct people very soon.

Bucky stopped crying sooner with Gabe than he had with Dum Dum. Pulling back, he wiped his cheeks and nose on his sleeve, looked into Gabe’s brown eyes, and told him, “I’m really glad you’re here.”

There was a gentle tug on Bucky’s pants leg and a quiet murmur by an adult saying to give ‘Uncle Bucky’ a few minutes. When he finally tore his eyes away from Gabe and looked down, there was a tiny little girl looking pleadingly up at him, a stuffed bear wearing his old Commandos uniform—which, again, was almost scarily accurate, not that stupid comic book shit—clutched in her arms. When their eyes met, she held up her arms in an obvious bid to be picked up.

She couldn’t have been more than four years old and cute as a button. She sort of terrified him. Looking back to Gabe wide-eyed, he shifted nervously.

“It’s okay,” he said with a soft smile and a gentle palm against his shoulder.

Steve’s crutches clomped over to his side as Bucky looked down at his metal hand. Steve reached out and touched him, too, running his palm up and down Bucky’s back. It was a comfort.

“You’ve done so well with all the children tonight, Buck,” he said quietly into his ear. “I know you’ll be gentle with her.” After a few more seconds where Bucky didn’t move to pick her up, Steve added, “When was the last time you accidentally hurt someone.”

Bucky was about to open his mouth to point out the _multiple_ times he’d almost killed Steve—and Sam and Natasha and Clint and Tony… But Steve’s eyes grew hard.

“That doesn’t count and you know it. That wasn’t you. You’ve always been good and gentle and kind.”

Bucky looked down again. And in the face of those liquid brown eyes and reaching hands, he was helpless to resist. Bucky still didn’t remember everything so he could only hope that Steve was right.

Slowly reaching down, he picked the little girl up. They stared at each other for a minute where he tried to figure out which of his friends she belonged to. Before he could decide, though, she leaned forward, snuggled into his neck, and went to sleep. He didn’t know what to do and looked helplessly at Steve.

Steve only shrugged. So helpful, his love—the ass.

Dum Dum chuckled. Somehow he’d come right up behind Bucky without him realizing. “Aww. They’re so cute when they’re that age.” He wasn’t looking at the kid at all. He was looking right at Bucky.

Steve snorted.

Even Bucky couldn’t help the wry twist of his lips. “Thanks, Pop Pop.” He purposely paused for a moment, tilting his head as if studying him. “Do they call you Pop Pop because we called you Dum Dum?” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Steve begin to grin. “Did you somehow convince them that you were sweet or did they figure out that you’re really just a sucker?”

There was a moment of silence before nearly everyone in the room started laughing, Gabe loudest of all. The little girl shifted closer to his neck but, otherwise, didn’t react to all the noise.

“Who is she?” Steve asked after things died down. He carefully reached a finger out to shift the little girl’s hair and tuck it behind her ear to see her face better.

“I guess we haven’t done any introductions, yet, have we?” Dum Dum said. “This little sleeping beauty is called Angel. Angélique. She’s Jacques’s great-granddaughter.”

It threw Bucky for a bit of a loop hearing Dernier called by his first name but he guessed it was easier once more Derniers started popping into the world.

After Steve and Bucky were seated on the couch—Steve because he shouldn’t be on his feet so much so soon after getting hurt and Bucky because he had a sleeping child in his arms—they were introduced to everyone there. Gabe and Tim sounded so proud. It was clear that they thought of everyone as family, despite the fact not everyone there was related to them by blood.

“Blood…” Bucky murmured, brows drawing down, thinking hard. “Did—”

Steve stopped talking to Gabe and Dum Dum and they all looked over at him. It was a long minute of silence after Steve held up a finger to signal the other two that they should wait.

The memory formed slowly but it was nothing but a jumbled mess. Bucky pressed hard against his temple and rubbed around his ear in an attempt to lessen the pressure of a sudden splitting headache. “I don’t…”

He was barely aware of Morita’s grandson, Tadashi, taking Angel from him. He immediately bent at the waist, groaning as he pressed his palms against his eyes. He could feel all his muscles tightening up like they used to when he’d been forced to endure the Chair.

He knew Steve said something but couldn’t concentrate on what, too busy trying to not get sick. He was even less aware when the couch shifted beside him. Seconds later, there were fingers pressing hard into the muscles of his neck, shoulders, and back. That could only be Steve; no one else could match the kind of strength needed to relieve any of the tension there.

It was long minutes—or possibly an eternity—where Bucky struggled to not bolt to the nearest acceptable place to get sick. But, eventually, his head stopped hurting quite so much. He became more aware of his surroundings and of himself.

He could hear children playing in one of the bedrooms down the hall, seemingly unaware of Bucky’s plight. There were respectfully quiet conversations about nothing important across the room. There was someone in the kitchen running the tap. Steve’s hands had gentled on his neck and shoulders and others touched him as well. There was a hand on his forearm that constantly trembled, which he clocked as Dum Dum’s, and another on his left knee which Bucky guessed to be Gabe’s.

Bucky was short of breath, though not quite gasping, and he was damp with sweat, a few drops trailing down his temple. Above him, Steve whispered quietly to him, reminding him where and when he was in case he’d lost that again.

“You idiot,” Bucky said, his voice rough and gravelly. He slowly sat up again and squinted through the room’s brightness at his moron. “No regard for your own injuries. Sit the hell down, Stevie.”

“Yeah, Stevie,” Gabe teased with a chuckle. He removed his hand from Bucky’s knee so Steve could hobble back to his spot and sit.

There was a moment of silence between them before Steve broke it with, “It’s been a while since you’ve had one that painful.”

“What, exactly, was that?”

Bucky squinted at Tim, still finding the overhead light too bright. “That was a memory trying to return. Turns out shooting high amounts of electricity through someone’s brain for more than half a century causes severe memory loss and brain damage.”

One of the women who Bucky couldn’t currently remember the name of dug through her purse and came up with a pair of sunglasses and offered them to him with a sympathetic smile. He took them with an abashed thank you and put them on, not even caring that they were bright purple cat eye frames with sparkly pink rhinestones on them. They made the room darker so he was grateful.

“With the serum he got,” Steve explained, “his brain is healing and his memories slowly returning. But sometimes it’s…unpleasant.” He reached out and took Bucky’s hand.

Bucky couldn’t help the slightly bitter laugh. “Unpleasant. Yeah. I guess that’s one word for it. Hurts like a son of a bitch. And half the time everything’s scrambled or incomplete so I have no idea what it means.”

“What did you remember this time?” Gabe asked. “Maybe we can help unscramble it.”

“I doubt it. My brain is trying to tell me we’re all blood related.”

There was a moment of silence before Dum Dum chuckled and Gabe cracked a toothy grin. “Well, Buck, that’s because we are.”

Bucky gave him a flat look as much as he could behind sparkly purple sunglasses. “Yes,” he said, dry as the desert. “We look so much alike, we’re practically twins. Even Steve, here, has trouble telling us apart.”

Across the room, Bethany, Monty’s twenty-something year old granddaughter, snorted.

“What he _means_ ,” Steve said, pulling Bucky’s hand into his lap, “is that, back in the war, after a particularly gruesome battle where we all got hurt in some way, Dernier suggested we become blood brothers. So, once we were safe enough, he did some kind of ritual and we all mixed our blood. Apparently it was a pretty common thing where he grew up, even for adults.”

“Huh.” It was all Bucky could think to say. It didn’t make his memory any clearer but it did make it a bit more understandable.

Henry, Tim’s kid, came over to them, then, and held a glass of water out to Bucky. He automatically reached out to take it with his free hand—his metal hand—but realized his mistake at the last second. Henry held a _glass_ glass. Bucky had shattered too many glasses after a painful memory made it hard to gage the strength of his metal arm. Pulling out of Steve’s grasp, he took the water with his flesh hand instead. “Thank you.”

After a sip, Bucky’s eyes ticked back to Gabe and Dum Dum. Something occurred to him. “So, this blood ritual…” He smirked. “Is that why you two are so fucking old? Got a little super serum in you?”

Quite a bit more laughter broke out around the room and Bucky felt himself settle the rest of the way.

Blood brothers. Family. He and Steve had family, one created a long time ago out of choice. And it hadn’t died. It had only grown in their absence. Something he hadn’t known was askew began to settle into place. He leaned against Steve’s shoulder and sipped his water.

Later, he would help Steve remove his leg brace and bandages to shower and go to the bathroom. Then, he would re-bandage Steve’s wounds, re-brace his leg, and they’d fall asleep in each other’s arms.

Despite the agonizing pain of a bit ago, Bucky thought he would sleep pretty well that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This went a little differently than I thought it would. I hope you liked it.


	3. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Bucky and Steve prepare for their family to come over for Thanksgiving, two friends come to visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to post a Table of Contents for Chapter 1 so Halloween moved to Chapter 2. Check out individual chapter summaries under Table of Contents.

The table was set, ready and waiting for the food. The turkey was nearly done in the pressure cooker, the stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vegetables were all keeping warm, and the ham was finishing up in the oven.

Only recently being back in their home, they were still settling in. But tonight would go a long way in helping with that. They had the family coming over for Thanksgiving.

Bucky was just checking the ham when the doorbell rang. Healed enough to no longer be lugging around a brace and crutches or the cane that had temporarily replaced them, Steve quickly made his way to the door. Opening it, he was engulfed in a warm hug, white hair tickling his nose.

“Let the man breathe, Tim.” Steve only smiled happily at Gabe and held on just as tight.

Since discovering on Halloween that two of their friends were still alive and that all of the Howlies had family, there hadn’t been a week where they didn’t communicate with someone. More often than not, they talked to and saw a lot of someones. There were frequent visits from everybody and they got calls and texts from everyone from Dum Dum and Gabe right down to little Joshua. 

One time, Bucky had gotten an incomprehensible text from sixteen year old Heather. It took his phone ringing a minute later for him to realize that it wasn’t Heather who’d texted, but little Angel. While babysitting, Heather had set her phone down to go answer the door for whatever takeout they’d ordered. Angel had snuck off and texted and then called Bucky with it. It had been the cutest thing. Angel adored Bucky to pieces, though Bucky still didn’t seem to understand why. Steve did.

After Dum Dum and Steve let go, reluctant on both their parts, Gabe took a turn hugging him.

“Get your asses inside,” Bucky shouted from the kitchen after another minute, “before someone calls the cops on you for canoodling out on the stoop!”

The three of them snickered and made their way in. The rest of the family would be there soon but their friends came early to have a little bit of time to visit without kids underfoot.

After checking the ham, there wasn’t much to do but wait so Bucky took his turn hugging their friends. Then they all sat at the table and talked. Bucky took a seat sideways on Steve’s lap, slouching comfortably, and Dum Dum smiled.

“Still going strong, I see,” he said.

“More like ‘again.’” Steve wrapped his arm around Bucky’s waist. “It’s been a long road, recovering.”

“He didn’t even _say_ anything about our relationship!” Bucky jokingly accused, poking Steve none too gently in the belly.

“I didn’t want to push you into anything! You know that. I wanted you to remember and be able to choose.”

Gabe studied them, a smile gracing his face. “Well, it looks like it went well. I’m glad. You two always did have something special.”

“Thanks,” Bucky said softly. He laid his head against the top of Steve’s and the four of them talked until the doorbell rang announcing the arrival of the first of their family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was short. But I promise you the next one (Christmas) will more than make up for it. Prepare for surprises, shenanigans, sneaky supersoldiers, sexy times, and sweetness. And the Hulk. Don't forget Hulk.


	4. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Tony wouldn’t take no for an answer, the Howlie clan’s Christmas is moved to the Tower. Tony, wanting Steve and Bucky there to celebrate the holiday, is not expecting that. Neither are the other Avengers. There’s surprises, story time, sneaky supersoldiers, sexy time, shenanigans, and, throughout it all, sweetness. Also Hulk. Let’s not forget Hulk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the rest of my fics, anything in < > is in another language. In this case, French. 
> 
> Also, this chapter alone more than doubles the total word count of everything before it. Lol. It’s a good thing I had this finished before things got crazy busy around here. Otherwise there would be no Christmas chapter posted for Christmas. 
> 
> (P.S. One Last Warning: this chapter is rated E.)

Tony wouldn’t take no for an answer so Christmas was at the Tower. And, because he wouldn’t accept Steve’s “No, thank you” or Bucky’s “We’re busy” as a reason not to attend, Steve informed him that their family would be there as well. Tony had absently shrugged and turned away, dismissing the subject entirely.

Now, he looked a bit shell-shocked as more and more people filtered into the common room. Theirs was not a small family and Christmas was a time for _everyone_ to get together.

The numerous children immediately started running around chasing each other in whatever game they made up on the spot and the adults started visiting as if they hadn’t seen or talked to each other in months or years rather than days. The teenagers all headed for the TV and game systems or the corner.

“Um… What?”

It was Jarvis who answered Tony. “You gave your approval for Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes’s family to attend with them since you insisted they be here for Christmas celebrations.”

“We… Do we even have enough food for this many people?”

“We do, indeed, sir. I specified the correct amounts, as well as all food allergies, a month ago so as to accommodate everyone.”

Off to the side, Steve exchanged smirking grins with Bucky. Stark had wanted them there, so there they were. And so was their entire family right along with them. And, because the party was at the Tower, Steve and Bucky didn’t need to cook or clean their home up after everyone left—definite win, right there.

They’d been bringing presents over to the Tower for weeks in preparation. There were so many now, now that the family had added their own to it, that tree looked like it had been barricaded against the rest of the room. A few of the kids were over examining everything, most likely trying to find their names and guess what was inside. Jarvis had promised to keep an eye out so that no one opened any early.

“Uncle Stevie!” As Steve turned, Ronnie launched himself at him with a mile-wide grin. Steve caught him and tossed him up into the air a foot above his head while he squealed in terrified delight. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Bucky with Angel and Lana attached to his legs like limpets and Lana’s twin, Luna, wrapped around his back like a baby koala.

Tony only looked more shocked than when they all had come in. The day was going to be fun.

Carrying Ronnie over to where the other kids were, Steve acquired little Carrie. The three year old had grabbed hold of his leg much like Angel and Lana had done with Bucky. Steve simply kept walking, easily compensating for the extra weight. Heather was off to the side with Benji and James giggling at everything going on.

Amid the chaos, Sam walked in with his sister Sarah and her one year old son Adam. Three of the teens not playing games or talking flocked over, cooing and making eyes at the baby. Sam looked to Steve and Bucky to make sure they were okay. They both gave a grin and thumbs up.

Steve knew it would be another twenty minutes or so before any of the other Avengers arrived. He hoped they were prepared for the sheer noise that the Howlie kids—and adults—could generate.

“Grandpa!” Dugan’s great-granddaughter, Marie, shouted from across the room. “We’ve got a new Howlie! We’ve decided. He’s ours now!”

Steve turned and grinned at the sight that met his eyes. Gabe’s great-granddaughter, Amber, Morita’s adopted great-grandson, Michael, and a few others were sitting in a circle on the floor with Marie. Little Adam was toddling from person to person giggling and drooling. Sam’s sister looked on with an amused smile, as did many of the other adults.

Tony was finally starting to look settled with everything going on. Well, that needed to change immediately.

With a devilish grin, Steve scooped up the calmest toddler around. He was Dernier’s something or other relation. Honestly, there were so many people in the family that Steve felt good to be remembering names and which Howlie they were related to. It had only been two months since he’d met them, after all.

With the two year old in his arms, he casually headed towards Tony. As he passed Bucky and Sam, Steve saw Bucky narrow his eyes in suspicion. “What are you up to?” he asked. But Steve just kept going with a completely innocent smile on his face.

“Tony!” Steve used as much cheer in his voice as he could, knowing his attitude would steamroll his friend. “Be a pal and hold Arthur for me. I need to run to the kitchen for a moment.” He handed baby over, leaving no room for Tony to protest or argue, and headed off.

He barely made it to the kitchen before he started laughing. Sam and Bucky followed him in a moment later.

“You sly ol’ dog,” Sam said with a grin. “He looked like a deer caught in headlights.”

Bucky only crowded Steve against the wall and kissed him hard on the mouth. “I love you, ya big mook.”

When Steve could think again, he realized what just happened. Welp. Looked like their relationship was out, at least to Sam. They both looked over at their friend.

There was a moment of stunned silence before, “You two look good together. Happy.”

And those words were like a gift. They both enveloped Sam in a tight hug.

“Is this a private party or can anyone join?” Natasha said huskily from where she leaned against the doorway.

The three looked over and then held out their arms for her. Steve was both surprised and not when she looked a bit shy as she was pulled into the fold. She slowly relaxed into it, though, and his heart warmed.

“Don’t be shy, Bruce,” Bucky suddenly said. Steve twisted his head around to see. “This is a family hug. And we’re all family here.” Sam and Nat reeled him in and things only felt better.

It didn’t seem like much time had passed when Steve felt a tug on his dress pants. Loosening his hold, he looked down.

“Unka Steeb,” little Mark sobbed.

The four year old had big fat tears rolling down his cheeks and, feeling his heart clench, Steve immediately bent down to pick him up, hugging him. “What’s wrong?”

“Kiddy hi’ me!”

It took Steve a moment to realize that ‘Kiddy’ was his five year old sister Katie, as said through his tears. “Did you hit her first?”

He just planted his face in Steve’s neck. That told him everything he needed to know, including that the kid had a damn hard head. Steve felt a bit like he’d been headbutted in the throat.

“You know it’s not nice to hit people,” he said, all the while rubbing his back to soothe him.

“Says the guy who spent _years_ picking fights in every back alley in Brooklyn,” Bucky muttered just loud enough for him and the other Avengers to hear.

Regardless of what Steve had just told the boy, he retaliated against the comment by kicking Bucky’s calf with his heel. Mark would never know. He couldn’t hear Bucky’s grunt—or their friends’ snickering—over his own crying and his face was still hidden in Steve’s neck. And Steve had excellent balance, to the point that he barely even shifted when back-kicking Bucky.

Another minute saw Mark quieting down. Steve took the opportunity it presented. “I bet Katie is feeling just as bad as you. Why don’t we go talk to her?”

Mark didn’t agree, but he didn’t protest, either. Steve headed for the common room. “Grab me a beer, Buck?” he called over his shoulder as he went.

*****

Bucky watched the love of his life walk out of the kitchen. He was pretty sure he had some major heart-eyes going on. Sam elbowed him in the side and smirked.

Glancing at the others, he was glad to see they were otherwise occupied, unaware of any undercurrents in the room. Bruce was peeking at the food baking in the oven and Nat was reaching for some mugs to fill with the hot, boozy apple cider.

“Come on,” Bucky said as he nudged Sam. “Let’s bring beers out for people.”

Loading up, they entered the living room just in time to see Mark and Katie giggling, running back to the other children hand in hand.

They made the rounds, passing out the drinks. By the time they were nearly empty, a lot of people had thanked them, kissing them on their cheeks, and Bucky had his pockets stuffed with bottle caps he’d removed with his metal hand.

“Here you go, Stark,” Bucky said, offering him the last beer he held.

“Oh, thank god! Trade me, Buckaroo.” There was bit of a crazed look in his eye as he edged closer, trying to pass a completely chill Arthur over.

“No can do, Tony. I got me a thing to do.” He opened and passed over the beer, then booked it. Grinning, Sam followed.

“Is this gonna be a ‘mess with Tony’ kind of day?”

Bucky grinned, lazily wicked. “Looks like.”

“Holy shit!” a voice rang out from the edge of the living room.

A dozen people loudly called out, “Language!” to that.

“There are children present!” someone else scolded. Bucky thought it was Tadashi’s wife, Margie.

“I…I can see that. Um…who are they? And…and, uh, who are you?”

Bucky poked his head out of the kitchen for the sole purpose of taking in Clint’s startled and confused expression.

“Forgive him,” Natasha said to the room, gliding over and linking her arm with Clint’s. “He’s not the best without a whole pot of coffee in him. And I can almost guarantee that he just woke up.” Then she turned to Clint. “This is Steve and Bucky’s family. Clint, meet the modern-day Howling Commandos.”

The room rang out with about fifty greetings and a score of waves.

Clint’s eyes scanned the room. Bucky watched the exact moment they landed on Tim, Gabe, and Steve sitting on the couch. Steve was holding the newest addition to the clan, seven month old Gabriel, and Bucky got distracted for a second. But his attention ticked back to Clint when he gasped.

“Nat… Nat! That’s Gabe Jones and…and Dum Dum Dugan! Holy sh—”

“Language!” all the teenagers called out gleefully. Then they burst into giggles.

That seemed to shake him out of it.

Silently laughing, Nat steered him toward the kitchen. “How about some coffee before socializing?” she suggested.

They neared the doorway and Bucky stepped aside to let them pass. Then he headed back to the living room. Frowning, he paused, looking around. Something was niggling at him.

The kids sat around Heather, Grace, and Benji while they captivated them reading books Bucky knew someone in the family had brought. There were four teens playing video games while another seven watched. The adults were all socializing, a few moving from group to group. Steve was still with Gabe and Dum Dum on the couch while he fed the baby a bottle. Bill walked past Bucky, patting him on the shoulder on his way to the kitchen. Nat and Clint were still in there getting coffee. And Tony appeared to be trying to convince Pepper to hold Arthur for him, even though the kid looked comfortable as hell with his head resting on Tony’s shoulder and his thumb stuck in his mouth.

But, _there_. He finally ticked on to what was bothering him. Bruce stood alone in the corner with a steaming mug clutched between his hands. He wasn’t talking to anyone. He wasn’t socializing. He wasn’t even drinking from his cup. And he looked vaguely like he thought he shouldn’t be in the same room as everyone. It was the same look Bucky had noticed before they’d pulled him into the hug in the kitchen.

Well, that needed to be fixed immediately. It was Christmas and nobody should feel alone or like they didn’t belong. And Bruce was family. The Avengers were just as much family now as the Howlies.

After a few moments of thought, he wandered over to the little impromptu reading circle. Sitting down between Angel and Hannah, Bucky waited for the current story to end. When it was done, he said, “I have a tale to tell, if you all want to hear it.” He made sure his voice was loud enough for them to hear but not so loud that it would carry beyond their group.

There was a clamor of little voices begging him to do so and he smiled.

“Once upon a time, there was a man. He was a quiet man, and very smart. He enjoyed his science and his studies.”

“As he should,” Benji interjected.

Bucky gave him a sly grin. “He went to school and he became a Doctor of science—a few different kinds. He got a job working on a very important project, one that interested him and challenged him.” Bucky made his voice go low and ominous. “But there were others who were not satisfied with his progress. They wanted him to finish up _right then_. They didn’t care about the science of it. They wanted to use his work for their own _evil plans_.”

The kids hung on his every word. Even the three teens leaned forward the slightest bit, listening raptly. Bucky did his best not to smile.

“They ordered him to work harder, to work faster. They urged him to cut corners. They wanted him to get his work ready to test. But the man was a good man. He didn’t think his work was ready for that. And he told them so. But they persisted. They kept telling him and telling him.”

Bucky paused dramatically, faint memories of telling stories a lifetime ago, floating pleasantly through his mind.

“Eventually, the man found out that there were plans to steal his work and use it without his permission if he didn’t do what they wanted. Against his better judgment, he did as he was told. He got it ready to test. But he was still a good man, and a kind one. He got it ready, but he refused to let them test it on someone else. Instead, the night before they came, he tested it… _on himself_!”

The children gasped at Bucky’s over-the-top dramatics. Mikey scooted closer to Bucky, all but knee to knee with him now, the same as most of the others. “Wha’ happened ta him, Unka, Buck?”

He sounded afraid so Bucky plucked him up and settled him into his lap, cuddling him close.

“Well, his test did not go as planned. Instead of healing from whatever was wrong with him, like sharpening his eyes so that he no longer needed glasses…” He paused again. Everyone leaned in even more. Bucky lowered his voice to a dramatic whisper. “Instead of doing what he hoped it would do, he began to get _bigger_. And he began to get _greener_.”

More gasps all around. Mikey held tightly to Bucky’s metal hand. He felt someone come up behind him and did a quick check to make sure it wasn’t Bruce, though he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be.

He was right. It was Sam. Sam sat down to listen.

“With that,” Bucky said, going back to his story, his whisper going soft like a secret, “Hulk was born. The good, kind man _became_ Hulk. And Hulk was scared. Those mean people who wanted the man’s research burst in and tried to _capture_ him! They wanted him for themselves. But Hulk escaped. And when Hulk was safe, he turned back into the man.”

There were bright smiles on the faces around him, all of them happy for Hulk.

“The man spent a long time traveling. He was still a Doctor, still kind and smart. He spent his time helping others wherever he could.”

“Like Grandpa,” a tiny voice spoke up. Bucky wasn’t even sure which of them had said it.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Like _all_ the Howling Commandos.” Another pause. “But, then one day, a woman tracked him down. He was wary and tense, afraid that she just wanted to trap him and use Hulk. But she explained about some science she needed him to do. She told him that this was big science, important science, science that could save the world. He agreed to come and help.”

Heather, Grace, and Benji were just as riveted as the children and Bucky’s insides warmed. This was his family. Everyone here was family. He traded a quick look with Sam who was smiling fondly at him. Bucky quirked his lips before shifting back into storytelling mode.

“He finished up the science they needed quickly. But then…everything went wrong.”

Another gasp rang out around the group and Bucky saw Sam’s smile turn into an all-out grin. They both knew Bucky had them eating out of his hand.

“An explosion rocked the flying city he was on. And Hulk, scared and confused, came out. He didn’t know who was his enemy and he didn’t know that he had friends there. So he fought everyone to protect himself and the good man within him. He even won in a fight… _against Thor_.

The teens’ eyes went wide at that. “He beat _Thor_? He fought the God of Thunder and _won_?”

Bucky smiled at Grace’s question. “Yes he did. He didn’t hurt him too badly, but he was definitely was the one who walked away from that fight. As soon as he was able,” he said, going back to the story, “Hulk jumped off the sky city and got away. And, like before, when they were safe, he changed back into the good man.

“But do you know what?” he asked.

A chorus of “What?” was softly spoken around the group. Even Sam seemed to have gotten sucked into the story.

“The good man was _so_ good that, instead of disappearing when he had the chance, instead of running away and hiding so that no one could find him again, when the world was in danger, he showed up to fight. That good man, that kind man, that man who could now turn into Hulk, he showed up to defend the Earth.

“He arrived just as the Avengers watched an army of aliens pour out of a portal to take over the planet. And when the first one came down, when a flying, armored, space creature the size of a _giant whale_ came down to attack the Avengers, Hulk delivered the first blow. With _one mighty punch_ , he stopped it in its tracks. And the fight began.”

He looked around at his captive audience. “I think you know the rest,” he said. “The Avengers won the day and the city and world were saved. But they couldn’t have done it without Hulk. Hulk saved so many lives that day. He even saved Uncle Stevie a time or two.”

“Wow…” Angel breathed, curled up against his side. Quite a few of the kids nodded in silent agreement.

“That was a great story, Uncle Bucky.” Heather whispered in awe.

“Do you all want to know a secret?” Bucky whispered, ducking closer to them and lowering his voice even more.

They all leaned in. Even Sam couldn’t stop the curiosity from showing on his face as he wondered what Bucky was about to say.

Not making them beg for more than a moment, Bucky smiled and said, “That good, kind man I told you about? That man who can turn into Hulk? That man who helped save the world?”

They leaned even closer, all but on top of each other.

“He’s in this very room _right now_.”

Every single head, with the exception of Sam’s and Bucky’s popped up. They looked like a mob of meerkats, their heads swiveling back and forth to try to figure out who and where the man was. When they couldn’t immediately pick out a giant green Hulk, they got up on their knees, then to their feet.

It was little Julien who turned to Bucky and demanded, “Where? Where is he?”

Bucky’s grin wanted to stretch as wide as Sam’s was but he toned it down to a fond smile. He opened his mouth to tease them, to stretch the moment a little bit longer, but Angel tugged on his shirt sleeve.

“Pwease Unka Bucky?”

Her pleading brown eyes did him in. Even the feared Winter Soldier was powerless against them. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Bruce was still in the same spot, he said, “Alright. I already told you that he has glasses. He also has curly brown hair and is wearing…a purple shirt.” After barely a moment, he added, “His name is Bruce.”

*****

After listening to Bucky tell Bruce’s highly abridged and very watered down story, Steve watched as, one after the other, the kids all spotted Bruce in the corner across the room. It was Hannah who vaulted to her feet and began running over, weaving through and around various people as she went. A second later, the rest followed, not about to be left out of meeting the good man and Hulk.

“Your boy is one _hell_ of a storyteller,” Sam said as he plopped down beside Steve.

“I’ve always thought so. When we were kids, he used to tell his sister, Becca, and me killer stories of adventure and escapes and feats of derring-do.”

“Scared the pants off us Howlies a time or two during the war, too.” Dum Dum piped in.

Steve couldn’t help but laugh. “Remember the time he scared you so bad that you refused to go out on your watch alone?”

“I still get the heebie-jeebies whenever I think about that story.” He shuddered and Sam and Gabe snickered.

Even as they talked, Steve watched—and knew Bucky did as well—to make sure Bruce was alright. As the kids chattered around him, he went from startled and surprised to confused and unsure. Somewhere along the way, though, he settled on to cautiously happy.

Steve lost track of what was happening over in the corner for a minute when Marie came over and wanted to take little Gabriel to show him off to Sam’s nephew. When he looked back, the kids were all standing about eight feet away and Bucky was up close to Bruce, all but leaning against him and talking quietly into his ear.

Straining his enhanced hearing, Steve could just barely make out what was being said.

“You know me, Bruce. I’ve been the Winter Soldier longer than the majority of people here have been alive. And you’ve got Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Falcon, and Captain America all right here. Not to mention thirty Howlies who are trained fight. Even if something did happen— _which it won’t_ —no one will get hurt. We’ll all be here to protect you and everyone else.”

Bruce gave Bucky a worried look and Bucky squeezed his shoulder with his left hand. It was obvious that it was meant to be a show of immense strength. And, done to anyone else, they would have cringed at the sheer force of it. Bruce, however, relaxed into the feeling. He nodded his head slowly in agreement.

There was a moment where Steve wondered what was about to happen. But then Bucky called out to all the Howlies in French, which all the adults in the family knew, the teens were becoming decent at, and the kids still didn’t quite understand. <Everyone, collect your children, please. We’re going to have a surprise visitor for Christmas.>

Eyes widening, Steve quickly leaned over to Sam. “Go collect Sarah and Adam. Warn your sister that we’re about to have a controlled Hulk Out. They’re safe. But for Bruce’s peace of mind, be ready for anything.”

Trusting him, Sam was instantly up off the couch doing as he was told, joining the parents and relatives gathering everyone up into groups.

Pepper, who apparently understood French, was beside Tony, hurriedly whispering into his ear. Natasha and Clint came from the kitchen to join them, listening to what was going on.

Once all the kids and teens were collected and everything settled down again, Steve got up and headed for Bucky and Bruce. He surreptitiously motioned for the other Avengers to gather as well. With Sam beside his sister and nephew and Pepper now holding Arthur, having taken him from Tony, the others calmly advanced.

“Bucky is right, Bruce,” Steve said once the team was there. “We’re all here and nothing bad will happen.”

“Hulk is part of the team, part of the family,” Bucky said, “just as much as you are. Just as much as I am. Just as much as any of us.”

Tony, followed by Clint and Natasha, placed their hands on him in silent support.

And Bruce slowly smiled. It was one of the happiest smiles Steve had ever seen grace his face. “Family,” he said with wet eyes. And then he changed.

Clint and Natasha backed away but Tony held on. He touched Bruce’s arm throughout the whole change. And when he was done, Hulk smiled down on all of them. “Family,” he said in his deep voice.

“That’s right, Big Guy,” Tony said. In his trademark careless way, he patted Hulk’s arm. “Everyone here is family.”

Steve’s heart swelled at Tony’s words. There were definitely things they didn’t see eye to eye on, but when it came to this, they were in complete agreement.

“I think there’s some kids who really want to meet you, Hulk,” Bucky said. With a smile, he stepped back and to the side. Following, Steve saw every one of the kids Bucky had told the story to bouncing in excitement or trying to wiggle out of some family member’s grasp.

What followed was probably the cutest meet-and-greet in the history of meet-and-greets. By the end, Hulk was sitting on the floor with the biggest smile on his face. He was laughing like he was being tickled and he had a dozen children crawling all over him. Even the teens had gotten into it. They kept bringing him cookies and treats from the kitchen—all of which Hulk happily accepted and ate. Chris even brought him a big cup of boozy apple cider.

Bucky laughed when, after the contemplative look that crossed his face at the first sip, Hulk upended it and drank it right down in a single gulp.

“Alright kids,” Steve called when it looked like Hulk was slowly starting to shrink. “Hulk has to go now.”

There was a chorus of aws and mild complaints. But they listened and gave Hulk last hugs.

Before Hulk left, however, he dragged a squawking Tony into an embrace.

“I love you, too, Big Guy,” Tony said, patting him on the shoulder as his feet dangled in the air like a child’s. Pepper seemed to find that hilarious as she tried to hide her snickers against Arthur’s hair.

Hulk started to shrink faster after putting Tony down. But then he paused. Looking over at Bucky, his eyes said thank you.

“You’re welcome, Hulk.” Bucky said with a smile.

Steve laughed out loud as, this time, large green arms reached out and dragged Bucky in for a hug. Bucky made the absolute cutest squeak when he was suddenly picked up off his feet.

A moment later, Hulk set Buck back down and changed all the way back to Bruce. Natasha handed him an ugly sweater to replace his shirt that had ripped and, after pulling it on, Bruce looked around shyly.

If he thought that was the end of it, though, he was sorely mistaken. The kids swarmed back to him, wanting his attention. They wanted him to talk about his travels where he helped people—“ _Just like the Howling Commandos!_ ” A few of them, Benji included, wanted to know about doing science.

Seeing everyone was completely occupied, Steve grabbed Bucky’s hand and they snuck off.

When they reached the floor full of guest rooms and apartments, Jarvis let them into one. The second the door was closed, Steve pressed Bucky up against the wall, kissing the daylights out of him.

“You’re amazing,” he gasped between kisses. “God, but I love you so fucking much.”

Bucky didn’t say anything, just threaded his hands into Steve’s hair and kept right on kissing him.

Fumbling a little, Steve lead Bucky to the small bedroom and nudged him to lie back on the bed. He quickly stripped him of his pants which caused, oddly enough, a bunch of bottle caps tumble out.

Steve stared at them, confused, until Bucky made an impatient noise. “Ignore them. I just haven’t thrown them away yet.”

Right. Steve had been about to do something. He pushed the caps off the bed so he didn’t accidentally kneel on them, and then crawled up so he hovered over Bucky. Then he kissed him greedily once more. Sliding his hands up under Bucky’s shirt, Steve pushed it up and over his head. Bucky lifted up just enough to make it possible before collapsing back to the mattress.

With acres of skin exposed, Steve moved to kiss and lick and nibble and bite. He reveled in Bucky’s sounds, his gasps and sighs and breathy moans. Finally, Steve reached Bucky’s boxer briefs.

As he began to pull them down…Jarvis spoke. “Pardon me, sirs.”

He sounded so apologetic that Steve didn’t really have it in him to be mad or even annoyed. Breathing hard, he rested his head against Bucky’s hip. “What is it, Jarvis?”

There was an uncharacteristic moment where the A.I. hesitated, but he soon said, “Agents Romanov and Barton, as well as some of those in your family, have noticed your absence, sirs. It is my understanding”—he hesitated again—“that your relationship is a secret from everyone?”

“Not secret, exactly…” Bucky said. He was sounding entirely too steady for Steve’s liking. To fix that, he slid a hand high up on Bucky’s thigh and slowly began rubbing circles into the skin with his thumb, getting closer and closer to his cock. Bucky breath immediately went choppy again, though he continued to talk. “Our family knows. They’ve known since the war. But we haven’t exactly told anyone else.”

“Except Sam.” They’d kissed in front of Sam.

“Except Sam,” Bucky echoed with a little nod.

“Well,” Jarvis said, “figuring you didn’t want to be ‘outted’ without your knowledge or consent, when Agents Romanov and Barton started inquiring as to where you both were, I took the liberty of telling them you went out to acquire ugly sweaters so Bruce would not be alone wearing his. Sir ran with that idea and now everyone has sweaters on the way. I am having yours sent to you for when you are…finished.”

“Thanks, Jarvis,” Steve said, holding back the helpless laugh that wanted to come out. It really was a thoughtful—if poorly timed—interruption.

Figuring Jarvis was done, Steve stripped Bucky out of his underwear and began to lean forward to take him into his mouth. Bucky watched with hooded, hungry eyes.

“One last thing,” Jarvis interrupted again.

Steve didn’t stop. He left it up to Bucky to reply as he slowly licked him from base to tip.

“What?” Bucky voice sounded breathy and strained. Steve grinned, pleased with himself.

“Lunch is in twenty minutes and you are expected back in time for it.”

Well, then. Fast it was.

On the tail end of those words, Steve took Bucky in, sinking all the way down to the base of his cock.

Bucky’s breath punched out of him on a moan and Steve took him for a ride.

*****

After some of the quickest blowjobs Bucky could remember since the war, they walked back into the common room right on time. Bickering about who got to wear which sweater, no one—aside from Gabe and Dum Dum, if their sly looks were anything to go by—had any idea what they’d just been up to.

Looking around, all the movable furniture in the living room had been pushed aside. There were large tables set up in a U shape, with another nearby, and mismatched chairs surrounding them all. It all looked surprisingly homey and festive.

Seeing them enter, Margie passed baby Gabriel over to Steve and Jackie handed Jackson to Bucky. Both were old enough for solid foods but too small to feed themselves. Both he and Steve had gotten pretty good at feeding babies in the past couple months so they were trusted to do it now. It wasn’t like either of them minded in the least. It was nice to have baby time before handing them back to their parents.

It wasn’t long before the tables were loaded down with all kinds of delicious smelling food. The kids and under-eighteens were banished to “the kids’ table” as Jeff smugly called it. And, like a few other adults around, Bucky and Steve had high chairs set between them so they could feed the babies.

Conversations and laughter flowed throughout the room. Sometimes someone shouted down or across tables. Bucky focused on feeding himself and on feeding Jackson. It was nice. His baby being eleven months old, Bucky could open his own mouth and Jackson would mimic him. Then Bucky could quickly shovel the food inside for him to eat. Steve, on the other hand, made airplane and truck noises, kept om-nom’ing, and made airy chomping sounds to encourage Gabriel to eat.

It was actually very distracting. Because Bucky wanted very much to laugh at him. And to kiss him senseless. He was adorable.

Three things stopped Bucky from just leaning over and laying one on him, though. First, he was feeding Jackson and trying to eat his own food in between the baby’s bites. Second, they were at the table in the middle of a large group. While the Howlies probably wouldn’t have minded, so long as it didn’t get hot and heavy, the Avengers didn’t know about them. Bucky wasn’t about to spill the beans _that_ way. He and Steve would pick some other way to do it, eventually. And the third thing that stopped him was that he could distinctly feel eyes on him. Which meant they were most likely also on Steve.

Surreptitiously, he used forking up a bite of his own food to glance around. It was Natasha watching him. Deliberately meeting her eyes, he mouthed “Merry Christmas” to her. A sweet smile bloomed on her face and she shyly looked down at her plate. Bucky watched on fondly as Clint reached out a hand and placed it over her own. She turned hers up to thread their fingers together before pulling them under the table to continue eating.

Jackson fussed, then, and Bucky realized that it had been too long since his last bite. He went back to feeding the baby. Meeting Steve’s eyes for a moment, he smiled.

*****

After lunch, there was more socializing.

Bucky was a bit ashamed that it took him so long, but he eventually noticed the single sprig of mistletoe hanging unobtrusively. Heading off to the bathroom where he knew he’d have privacy, he asked, “Jarvis?”

“Yes, sir?” The A.I. matched Bucky’s low volume.

“Did Stark put up the mistletoe?”

“I believe he was planning to catch you and Captain Rogers, as well as Agents Romanov and Barton, under it. ‘To deal with the unending pining,’ he said.”

Bucky snorted. Of course he did. If Bucky hadn’t already known Tony didn’t know about him and Steve, it would have just been confirmed. He also must not know about Natasha and Clint either. They were subtle, but signs of their relationship were definitely there if one bothered to look.

“If you don’t mind me saying, sir,” Jarvis said just as quietly as before, “there is some speculation among the Avengers as to whether Captain Rogers has ever…engaged in sexual activities, as well as whether or not you have ‘gotten your freak on’ with anyone in this century.”

And wasn’t that just gut-bustingly comical, considering what he and Steve had been _engaged in_ mere minutes before lunch. Getting his freak on, indeed. If only they knew.

“You wouldn’t snitch on us, would ya, Jarvis?” Bucky asked jokingly, grinning widely up at the ceiling out of habit, even though he knew there were no cameras and only the barest amount of sensors in the bathroom. It was obvious Jarvis would keep their secret, especially considering he’d already covered for them during their previous activities.

“Of course not, sir. The privacy of those under my purview is deeply embedded into my base code. The only override is if something affects the health and safety of those in my care.”

“Huh.” That was good to know. “Well, thanks.”

“No thanks are necessary. It is my programming.”

Letting that go, Bucky spent a moment wondering if Jarvis would say yes to his idea, he decided to go for it. “You wouldn’t be willing to help me with something, would you, Jarvis?”

“As long as it is within my ability and doesn’t go against any set parameters, I will certainly do what I can.

“Okay.” Bucky rubbed his hands together, a slightly evil grin on his face. “There are a few things I need…”

*****

Something was going on. Steve could feel the ripple of it along his spine. It wasn’t quite the same feeling as when he was about to be shot at, but it was close.

Without turning his head from the TV where Amanda was neatly kicking Chris’s ass at Mortal Combat, he observed the room. The kids were playing puppies and kittens, some teens and adults were talking, playing board games, or watching the video game, others moved in and out of the groups breaking up minor arguments as they occurred. Everyone else talked or snacked or both.

The only thing out of the ordinary seemed to be Bucky. He wasn’t doing anything he wouldn’t normally do, but Steve could still tell some indefinable difference. He’d loved the man nearly all his life. He just knew.

“Steve,” he heard Bucky call lowly just at the edge of his hearing. There was no way his volume wasn’t intentional so he didn’t look. He did, however, shift his weight just a bit from one foot to the other and then back again. It was signal enough.

“I need you to distract Tony in the kitchen. Keep him away from the door. I need two minutes.”

When he looked out of the corner of his eye, Bucky was walking away from him, heading for Joshua. Joshua was infamous in the family for his pranks and tricks. Now, at least, Steve had some idea of what was about to happen.

With a ghost of a smile, Steve went to go complete his assigned task.

*****

With Steve distracting Stark, Bucky bent down to whisper in Joshua’s ear. “Wanna help me with a trick, sport?”

Joshua whirled around to face him, mischief written all over his face.

“You can’t tell anybody, though, unless I tell you. Okay?”

His face was suddenly the very picture of innocence. Bucky had to hand it to him; the kid had a hell of a poker face for a ten year old. Joshua held his arms up like he wanted to be picked up and Bucky went with it. It was as good a way as any to talk without being heard.

As Bucky slowly walked, he whispered the plan into his ear.

“Think you can do that in one go?” he asked, picking up his pace a little.

Joshua nodded determinedly.

“Okay,” he whispered. “Get ready…go.”

Without missing a step, Bucky tossed Joshua up into the air just hard enough, just high enough, for him to reach and grab that sprig of mistletoe. And just like he’d been told, Joshua hid it in his sleeve.

Giggling at the rush of being tossed into the air, though, Joshua unexpectedly cried, “Again, Uncle Bucky!”

Already eight steps away from where the mistletoe had hung, Bucky had to stop. With the excited shout, he’d accidentally become the center of attention and sudden hit of the party. For the next fifteen minutes, all the kids clamored around him, wanting to be tossed into the air next.

Having come back into the room at the noise, Stark got a hell of a laugh out of it, as did the others. But no one suspected what he and Joshua had just successfully done so that was okay. The rest of Bucky’s plan could wait.

*****

“You wanna tell me what you’re planning?” Steve murmured lowly into Bucky’s ear. Standing close for just a moment, he could feel the tiny shiver that ran through his love’s body.

Steve moved to lean against the wall a couple feet away and Bucky followed suit, standing shoulder to shoulder companionably.

“How would you feel about kissing Tony?”

“Um…” That was the most out-of-left-field question Bucky had asked him in a long while. His brows drew down as he tried to figure out where it was coming from. “Why?” Why was his lover and absolute love of his life asking if Steve would kiss their friend? Their friend who was in a relationship with one of the kindest, smartest women Steve had ever known. He was stumped.

“Because a little J-bird told me that there’s speculation going around—which I took to mean a bet—that you’re a blue-eyed, blushing virgin and I haven’t been laid anytime in this century. Also that you and me and Nat and Clint are pining hard for each other.”

Steve crossed his arms as he tried not to frown. He failed. “Aren’t they a couple?”

“Ninety-nine percent sure,” Bucky replied with a nod. Which meant that Steve wasn’t wrong; they were a couple.

“I’m, um…not. Pining for either of them,” he qualified, still extremely confused.

Bucky burst out laughing at that, drawing quite a few nearby eyes. After a couple minutes, he caught his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Oh, man,” he said. “Thanks for that.”

Before either of them could say any more, Angel, Lana, and Luna all approached, rubbing their eyes tiredly and asking to be held. Glancing around, Steve saw that most of the kids—and a few of the teens and adults—were all conked out in arms or on furniture—or in Jeff’s case, on the floor with a pillow shoved under his head.

In short order, Steve had a twin on each hip, their heads laid against his shoulders, and Bucky had little Angel snuggled happily in his arms.

Switching to French, they went back to their conversation.

<So…why does he think we’re pining for them?> Steve asked.

<No. He thinks we’re pining for each other and they’re pining for each other.>

<And that…?>

<And that you’ve never been kissed and I haven’t had sex in, like, at least twenty years. Or maybe since before the war. Who knows?>

<Where does he come up with this shit?>

<Reputations, Captain America,> Bucky said, flicking him in the temple with his metal hand.

Steve gave him a dirty look. That had actually kind of hurt.

<So what are you going to do about it?> Dum Dum questioned, coming up to them with Gabe at his side.

*****

With the plan set, Dum Dum went to speak to Natasha and Clint while Gabe headed over to talk to Pepper. Gabe had been sent to Pepper because, as he’d aged, his face had grown even more into the kind that people had a hard time saying no to. Bucky and Steve had found out at Thanksgiving over the last piece of ham that he had even better puppy dog eyes than he’d sported during the war. And, without Pepper’s agreement, none of this was going down. She could and would take on a supersoldier if she wished.

So, while their friends worked their magic, Steve and Bucky approached Sam and Bruce. It wasn’t strictly necessary to get them on board, it would sure be fun.

“You want us to what?” Sam asked, grinning like a loon.

“Kiss. Pucker up. Smooch. Lock lips. Swap spit. Suck face. Snog. The Big Smackeroo. The—”

“I think they get the picture, Bucky.”

Bruce was outright laughing by then and it was only a few seconds before Sam joined in.

“What the hell,” Sam told them. “I’m in.”

“That’s the spirit!” Steve exclaimed, thumping him once on the back before giving him an apologetic look in response to his grimace.

“Why not?” Bruce agreed with a shrug after he took a calming breath. “Just let me know when I’m needed.”

“Okay. We just need…” Steve looked over his shoulder and got a thumbs up from both Gabe and Tim. He elbowed Bucky before looking back at the others. “The plan is a go. We’re starting now.”

*****

With Steve following, Bucky headed over to the other side of the room where they met their partners in crime.

“So, who’s first?” he asked.

“Pepper has requested that privilege,” Gabe replied.

Your boy, Clint over there, said he was going to slip in some tongue,” Dum Dum said almost gleefully.

“Did Natasha smack him?”

“In the back of the head,” he confirmed with a wide grin and a nod.

They all laughed at that. But it was time to rock and roll. The day wasn’t getting any younger.

Taking out the mistletoe Joshua retrieved, as well as the small magnetic clamp and the perfectly balanced throwing knife handle with a magnetic end that Jarvis had manufactured for him, he secured them together so there was no chance of them coming apart. Then, taking a minute step to the side and making eye contact with Pepper, Bucky made a perfect, underhand throw, so subtle that no one noticed unless they were watching for it. With the low-level, constant hum of room, there was hardly even a sound when it stuck right where he’d aimed it.

They watched as Pepper got Tony’s attention and pointed up. With a wide grin, Tony leaned wrapped her in a hug and kissed her on the mouth. It was cute, Bucky had to admit. They were a striking couple.

While they kissed, while Tony was distracted by it, Bucky pressed the button Jarvis had given him along with the magnet and throwing handle. A slight rise in energy that he could feel caused the knife to disengage from the ceiling and come zooming straight back to him.

It all worked even better than Bucky had planned. Jarvis was an absolute gem.

Grinning at the others, they all split up.

*****

The second person to get ‘caught’ under Tony’s mistletoe was Bruce. They were talking about some experiment being done by a respected colleague when Dum Dum all but boomed, “Hey! Mistletoe!”

About twenty adults as well as some of the teens looked up while the few kids that were still awake just looked around confused.

Tony saw the sprig of mistletoe hanging right above Bruce’s head and got a devilish grin on his face. Leaning in, he smacked a loud kiss to Bruce’s lips. When he was done, Bruce had pink cheeks but was smiling.

Next up was Natasha. Steve saw Bucky catch her eye and then throw the sprig. Nat sauntered right up to Tony and bent him over backwards giving him a long, bold kiss on the lips. When she set him back up on his feet, He was stuttering and blushing and glancing nervously between Natasha and Pepper. Laughing silently, her face amused, Pep just gestured for him to look up at the ceiling. There sat the mistletoe, right above his head.

Tony narrowed his eyes accusingly at it until Gabe called his name and he moved over to talk to him.

Bucky was about to press the button to call the magnets back but Steve stilled his hand. Two seconds later, Tony looked back and glared up at the offending plant. Soon enough, though, Gabe successfully distracted him. Steve released Bucky who pressed the button.

Ten minutes later, Steve signaled Sam and Sam headed over to Tony. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Jones, but I need to steal Tony for a minute.”

“Of course. And call me Gabe. There’s too many Joneses here to do otherwise.”

Sam nodded respectfully and pulled Tony away by the arm. Leading him over to stand a couple feet from his sister, they started talking about broken computers and where she could go to fix one.

Exchanging a smile with Bucky, Steve waited until the mistletoe was firmly in place, smack dab in the middle between Tony and Sam, before he got Sarah’s attention. Looking to where Steve pointed, her eyes widened and she grinned. “Hey, Sam,” she interrupted from a safe two feet away. Pointing up, she said, “Guess it’s your turn to pucker up, big brother.”

Sam looked up like it was a complete surprise to find himself standing under some mistletoe and turned to Tony. Before Tony could even open his mouth, Sam leaned forward and laid a comically loud kiss on his cheek.

“What the ever-loving f—” Tony began. But one of the Howlie clan holding a too-interested child half a dozen feet to his right cleared her throat.

Without another word, Tony glared up at the bit of green above him and walked off. He settled himself firmly by Pepper with a stubborn look that said he wasn’t leaving her side.

*****

Bucky wanted to laugh. It was so hard not to. But he knew that, if he did, it would ruin their fun.

He and Steve had split up so they wouldn’t look too suspicious so, beside Bruce, with Bucky’s back to Stark, judging the room’s reflection in the window to cast over his shoulder, he readied to make another throw. Pepper would get a second kiss.

He was about to release when Bruce put a hand out to stall him. “Wait.”

Studying the shadowed scene against the darkness outside, Bucky saw what Bruce, facing Tony, had seen.

Turning his head to actually look, he watched as little Arthur ran over to Tony and tugged on his pants leg. When Tony looked down, Arthur puckered up for a kiss. It was heart-meltingly adorable.

Tony got a suspicious look on his face and looked quickly around, trying to judge who had sent the boy over. Then he looked up, expecting to find mistletoe. But, when there was none, he looked back down. Stark’s expression softened and he bent to pick the two year old up. He gave a soft little peck on Arthur’s wet lips before, satisfied, Arthur laid his head down and stuck his thumb into his mouth.

“Jarvis, please tell me you got a picture of that!” Bucky whispered. “Or a video. Or both. Something!”

“I did, indeed, sir,” Jarvis said quietly from his left. “I had planned to send it to Miss Potts. Would you like a copy as well?”

“Yes, please.” Glancing around at all the other Avengers’ gooey expressions, he added, “In fact, send a copy to all the team.” This was a memory best not forgotten.

“As you wish.”

*****

With Arthur cuddled up to Tony, Bucky’s plan for more mistletoe shenanigans were put on hold. The Avengers all kept a surreptitious eye on them because, every once in a while, Arthur would pick his head up and silently ask for a kiss. Once, he even reached out to indicate he wanted a kiss from Pepper, which she gave with a pleased smile.

With each kiss Tony willingly gave, Bucky’s heart slowly but surely melted.

It hadn’t been part of the plan but it sure as hell worked. Happy fucking holidays.

Right before dinner, Simon appeared before Tony. The four year old glared up at his baby brother with obvious jealousy before tugging hard on Tony’s pants leg. When Tony looked down, Simon scrunched his face up, forcefully puckering for a kiss of his own.

Not having seen the glare shot at Arthur and probably not realizing the two were siblings, Stark could still see the jealousy there. He quirked a small grin and bent down to give a kiss. At his side Pepper covered her smile with her hand, silent laughter in her eyes.

The moment after Simon got what he wanted, he shot a victorious glare at an uncaring Arthur before leaving to go and play again.

Bruce and Steve called for help in bringing the reheated food to the tables, then, and Bucky went over to Tony and Pepper. “Come here, munchkin,” he said, holding out his arms. Arthur transferred over without fuss, silently asking Bucky for a kiss before settling his head down on his left shoulder.

With the arm not holding the boy, Bucky reached out and gently gripped Stark’s bicep. “I know you just met them today, but thanks for being such a good sport, Tony.” Letting go, he smiled down at Arthur before turning to find a seat at the table, the toddler sideways on his lap.

Before long, two plates of food were set in front of him, one for him and one for Arthur. He smiled up at Steve in thanks.

It wasn’t long before everyone was sat down, talking, and eating.

Bucky got sucked into a conversation with Mary, one of Monty’s children, about the differences between life growing up in the ’20s verses the ’50s when she was raised verses now. Every once in a while, he would pause to absentmindedly catch whatever food Arthur suddenly decided to throw, which he would patiently encourage him to eat rather than toss.

After one of these times, and after a while of feeling gazes on him and hearing the giggling from over at the children’s table, he looked over and sent them a mischievous smile and playful wink before blowing them all a kiss. Then he turned away to continue his conversation with Mary.

*****

Steve was practically a puddle of goo as he watched Bucky interact with the kids. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that Natasha, sitting beside him, noticed. She leaned over and whispered slyly in his ear, “Pining for someone?”

Turning to her, his smile becoming a touch melancholy, he whispered back like a secret. “You know, when we first met the family on Halloween, Angel was tired and wanted Bucky to hold her while she slept. He was so scared that he would hurt her, though, that he had to be coaxed into picking her up.”

He met Nat’s eyes as the proud feeling in his chest grew. “But look at him now, holding Arthur as easily as he used to cart his baby sister around, playing with Joshua, telling stories to the kids, giving hugs and kisses. He’s not afraid he’ll hurt them anymore.”

Nat’s eyes slid past him to land on Bucky as he listened seriously to something Mikey, leaning trustingly against his metal arm, was telling him. Her eyes grew just a little bit misty, like she’d just barely stopped tears from forming. “He’s learned to trust himself and his limits.”

“Yeah.” Steve slipped his arm around her shoulders, needing to do something to express the joy in his heart. He hugged her briefly against his side. “It makes me so happy to see that again.”

Natasha pressed one hand to his heart while her other arm wrapped around his back. Then she stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. Turning his face into her hair, he closed his eyes briefly and inhaled the warm scent of family. Pressing a light kiss to her temple, he let her go to continue eating.

Bucky, obviously having heard them, hooked his foot around Steve’s ankle in support. Having that solid comfort to anchor himself, Steve settled. He started up a conversation with Bruce, Natasha, Clint, and Henry about how Christmas was celebrated in different countries around the world, about different foods and different traditions people had.

By the time dinner was over, Steve was back to feeling steady and ready for more fun.

*****

“Okay, everybody,” Gabe called out. “Presents!”

Cheers went up around the room, from children to adults. Considering the veritable mountain of gifts, there was a lot of excitement. Children came running excitedly, teens pretended they weren’t dying to run, too, and everyone else soon followed.

Taking any available seat, many sitting on laps and on the floor when spots ran out, Bethany got up to hand out gifts.

“She took over a few years ago after her mother, Georgia, passed away,” Dum Dum rumbled quietly into Steve’s ear. They both knew that Bucky, sitting at Steve’s feet heard his words, too. “Monty’s daughter-in-law,” Tim said, placing her spot in the family tree for them. “Cancer took her in the end, but having Bethany so late in life weakened her.”

“How old is Bethany?” Steve asked. “She can’t be much older than mid-twenties.” Just how old had Georgia been when she’d given birth for Bethany to be Monty’s granddaughter, not his great-granddaughter?

“She’ll be thirty on January 5th. Georgia married Monty’s youngest. She was twelve years younger than him. They tried for about twenty years to have a child. Bethany came as a surprise after they’d finally given up.”

“She looks happy,” Bucky murmured over his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Dum Dum sighed contentedly. “She takes after her mother, both caretakers down to the bone.”

Gabe settled into the spot on the other side of Steve and patted his knee. “She’s followed in the footsteps of your mom. Soon she’ll be a fully-fledged nurse.”

Steve’s heart stuttered in his chest and his eyes filled. “Really?”

Getting nods from both Gabe and Tim, Steve stood. Stepping over Bucky and a few of the kids between them, he made his way to Bethany. She’d just finished handing a present to someone when Steve wrapped her up in a tight hug. “My ma would be so proud of you, becoming a nurse.”

Hugging him back, she said, “We all grew up on stories you and Uncle Buck shared during the war. None of us ever got to meet her, but we all still love and respect Grandma Sarah.”

Wiping ineffectively at his tears, all the while not letting her go, Steve felt a small pair of arms wrap around his thighs. Before he could pull back and look, another slid around his waist and still more around his legs and back. He looked down through the blur of tears and saw a dozen children, including the two toddlers, surrounding him.

“Unk Stebe sad?” Carrie asked. Her big brown eyes filled with tears at the question.

Making sure not to crush anyone on his way down, Steve slid to the floor and gathered her close. A few others came forward for their own hugs. Arthur climbed into his lap. “No,” he said. “I’m happy. These are happy tears.”

*****

Bucky watched Steve as he gave each kid around him—and those who approached once he stood up—hugs. His voice got lost in the crowd as conversations picked back up, even as the gift giving stayed on hold. A warm presence settled beside him and he didn’t even have to look over to know it was Sam.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah. I just—” Bucky’s voice was rough so he cleared it, but he didn’t bother to wipe his eyes. “I miss her. Miss Sarah. And I miss my ma and pop and Becca.”

Sam was silent for a moment and, in that time, Angel climbed into Bucky’s lap.

“Christmas is a time to remember those we love, whether they’re here or not,” Sam eventually said. “I don’t know if there’s a God or a life after death. But I have a feeling that, if there is, they’re all out there watching, proud of the man you’ve become. Despite everything bad that’s happened in your life, you’re still a good man with a loving heart and kind soul.”

Bucky had no voice after all that so he did the only thing he could. He wrapped his arm around Sam in a side hug, trying to convey how much his words meant. Sam must’ve understood because he patted Bucky’s chest and murmured, “I love you, too, man.”

*****

It wasn’t long before presents started getting handed out again. There were sounds of ripping paper, excited squeals and cries of delight, and the occasional crying or tantrums when someone took a toy that didn’t belong to them. But, throughout it all, there floated the feeling of love, created when Steve hugged Bethany and all the kids hugged him.

Benji, Michael, James, and Grace went around at one point refilling cups of tea and cider and fetching fresh beers or glasses of water.

There was one more appearance of Hulk so that the team could give him his presents the same time as everyone else. He was delighted to be receiving something of his own and that only boosted the overall mood of the evening.

At one point, when Stark got up to retrieve a present and ended up beside Clint, Bucky threw the mistletoe to hang above them. Giving a whistle loud enough for Clint’s hearing aids to pick up but low enough that Tony wouldn’t pay attention to it, Bucky pointed it out. With a wide grin, Clint whirled Tony to face him and planted an enthusiastic kiss right on his lips.

Before Tony could do or say anything, react in any way, Clint smirked and slunk off to sit beside Natasha. Tony glared mutinously up at the mistletoe before stomping off to resume his seat beside Pepper.

While he had his back turned, while he was focused on Pepper, Bucky took the opportunity to press the button that sent the sprig flying back to him so Tony couldn’t keep an eye on it. He figured they only had one more opportunity to catch him under it before he rebelled. There was still him and Steve to kiss him. They’d use it well.

*****

By the time people started leaving, it was beginning to get late. There were sleepy mumbles from children dreaming of Santa as Bucky and Steve said goodbye to each and every one, promising to talk to them soon.

Before long, the only people left were Dum Dum and Gabe, with Henry to drive them home. Besides the three Howlies, Sam, Sarah, and Adam, along with Pepper and the Avengers, were all that were left.

The Howlies sat with Pepper, Sarah, and a sleeping Adam while the others cleaned up.

Bucky fiddled with the sprig and magnet in his pocket as he surreptitiously watched Tony. Judging the moment right, he sauntered over Tony and Steve, throwing the mistletoe to land where he wanted it. Then he pulled Tony in and laid one on him. He didn’t go all out; that wasn’t the purpose of all the kisses tonight. And him kissing Tony that intensely would probably only serve to make him think it _had_ been forever since Bucky had gotten laid.

Backing off, he locked eyes with Stark. Who’d been struck with a rare moment of speechlessness.

Bucky smirked. And then Steve stepped between them.

In front of everybody, Steve wrapped Tony up in his arms and all but _devoured_ him. Bucky watched as he used nearly every weapon in his extensive arsenal.

Bucky had often been where Stark was and could say that Steve was, without a doubt, a damn good kisser. If he chose to, he could go at it like it was his mission to make you deaf, blind, and stupid with nothing but his mouth. And, when he did, he usually succeeded. Being on the receiving end of all that made a person helpless to resist.

After a while, Steve pulled back with a smirk, the same as Bucky had. Everyone saw Tony’s slack expression and glazed eyes. “Merry Christmas, Stark,” Steve said jovially. Then he patted his cheek and turned away.

With a wink and a grin at the others, Bucky followed Steve over to where Gabe, Dum Dum, and Henry were all laughing their asses off. He tossed Pepper the button for the mistletoe.

“You three ready to go?” Steve asked. “We can drop you guys off. That way you don’t have to drive in the snow, Henry.”

Getting assent, they all bundled up. With one last wave to the others—and a laugh at Tony’s still shocked expression—they left with their family.

All in all, it was a better Christmas than either Steve or Bucky could’ve imagined at any point in their lives up until now. Bucky didn’t know what they’d done to deserve this, but he was truly glad for it.


	5. New Years Eve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky drag themselves off the quinjet after a long and smelly mission. They just want to sleep. Unfortunately, the others won’t stop knocking.

Steve was tired. Bucky, he knew, was, too. So much so, that they all but dragged themselves off the quinjet and onto Stark/Avengers Tower. Steve’s brain was even tired. He couldn’t remember what the Tower was being called this week.

How had it only been five days?

In addition to being tired, both he and Bucky stank so bad that neither of them could smell anything anymore. How someone had managed to set raw sewage on fire was beyond him, but Steve knew they both now smelled horribly of burning waste. He was actually sort of grateful to not be able to smell anymore. The same could not be said for the agents they’d worked with. On the way back, they’d all been sure to stay as far away from them as possible.

The other Avengers were lucky they hadn’t gone on the mission.

The moment he and Bucky stepped foot on the Tower, the jet took off. He noticed that, despite the frigid winter wind, the door hatch did not close right away. They must stink worse than he thought.

“Come on, Buck. Decontamination.”

“What good is being a supersoldier if we still have to decon?”

“Feel free to keep stinking. But don’t expect to come anywhere near me.”

With a sigh, Bucky trudged after him.

After an hour—four back to back decontamination processes—they still smelled faintly of burnt sewage. They also now smelled strongly of chemicals and lavender soap. And both of their noses were going nuts. They were constantly on the edge of sneezing because of it.

“Fuck. I’m not going to sit here like this all night.” Steve got up and headed back to the bedroom. “Jarvis, how do you get rid of skunk smell?”

“Oh, hell yeah. Maybe that’ll help.” Bucky was up and off the couch, following Steve down the hall. With Jarvis’s instructions, they gathered what they would need and headed to the bathroom.

*****

It was another five showers before their noses calmed down. Then it was one more so they’d smell more like their own soaps than chemicals.

By the time they were done, they both had gone from tired to exhausted. They contemplated just crashing in the guest apartment’s bed instead of going all the way home.

The knock on the front door was not welcome.

“Who is it Jarvis?” Bucky mumbled. His head was pillowed on Steve’s thigh while his arm was thrown over his eyes. Steve leaned back against the couch, eyes closed, his fingers tangled limply in Bucky’s damp hair.

“It is Agent Barton, sirs. He wishes to bring you up to the common room to celebrate New Years Eve.”

Steve only groaned. “Tell him to go away.”

They had five minutes of respite before there was another knock.

This time, Jarvis didn’t wait for them to ask. “Senior Airman Wilson is at the door.”

“Go away, Sam!” Bucky yelled.”

“Sorry, man,” Sam shouted back through the door. “They made me come down. I’d expect the others if I were you.”

Bucky sort of wanted to whimper at the thought. Instead, he only readjusted the arm over his eyes to block out more light. Steve, who had to be feeling just as pitiful as him, started slowly carding his fingers though Bucky’s hair.

The next person to come was Bruce. His knock was so tentative, they didn’t even need Jarvis’s confirmation as to who it was. He gave it anyway. They tiredly told him to pass along the same message: go away.

It happened with Natasha too, though she actually managed to convince Steve to answer the door rather than just accept a message from them through Jarvis. But as soon as she saw his face, she backed off.

Then it was Tony’s turn. But, unlike the others, he _wouldn’t stop knocking_. He didn’t listen when Jarvis told him to go away. He wouldn’t _leave_.

Finally Bucky had had enough. “Fuck! Get up, Steve. We’re going up to this fuckin’ New Year’s thing. We’re going to go up there and participate by filling a cup up of whatever they’ve got and consider it done. Then we’re going to park ourselves on the damn couch and we’re going the hell to sleep. They can’t keep fucking knocking if we’re up there like they want.”

Steve got a supremely stubborn look on his face. “I’m not changing.”

“Then wear your goddamn pajamas. I’m going to.”

Bucky went back to his post-mission bag to grab a clean hair tie to put his hair up in a high ponytail. Then he strode to the door muttering, “Sleep in a damn war zone, I can sleep through the fucking Avengers.”

“Good point.”

Neither of them bothered to put on shoes. Neither of them bothered to change or take anything but themselves.

Not in the mood to talk to Stark, Bucky flung the door open and ducked under his raised arm, fist poised for another knock. Then he stalked to the elevator with Steve right behind. “Get in or not, Stark, but decide now,” he barked. Then, addressing the ceiling, said, “Close the door, J.”

Tony made it into the elevator at the last second. Except, then he started to open his mouth.

Steve, bless him, clamped a hand over it. “We’ve already had four decons and six showers trying to wash the smell of burning shit off of us. Which we’ve spent the last five days wearing. Do not speak. We’re doing what you want. Accept it and quietly move along.”

The doors opened on the tail end of his words and, Steve letting go, they strode out. Tony silently followed.

They did exactly as Bucky said. They filled red plastic cups up with tepid water from the tap. Going the extra mile, they both even took a small sip. Participation complete. They then set the cups on the coffee table in front of the couch, and, each taking up half of it, their legs hanging off opposite arms and their heads side by side like a jigsaw puzzle, they flopped down and went to sleep.

Happy fucking New Year.

*****

When Steve woke up, there was a soft purple blanket with textured polka dots draped over him. A look at the date and time, kindly projected on the wall by Jarvis, informed him it was roughly sixteen hours after they’d fallen asleep.

Steve groaned as the twisting movement it took to look used the stiff muscles in his back.

“Shh-shh-shh…” sounded next to his ear as Bucky’s hand came to land clumsily over half his face.

Steve only barely resisted the urge to bite or lick him for it. And was glad he did when a low chuckle sounded nearby.

Since he couldn’t currently turn in the direction it had come from, Steve finally sat up. Looking around, and blinking with what he figured was probably a dazed-owl expression, he spied Natasha sitting curled up in the over-stuffed loveseat. She had a mug of something steaming—either hot chocolate or coffee—in her hands, which she occasionally lifted to her mouth and blew on before taking a slow sip.

Feeling lethargic and dull, Steve stood. Gripping the corner of his blanket, he dragged it around the coffee table and across the floor to curl up beside her. Snuggling close and covering the both of them, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

After a while, Natasha shifted. The feel of her fingers carding gently through his hair lulled him back to sleep.

*****

When Bucky woke, he became aware of the warmth first. He was warm and comfortable. But it was definitely different than the times he woke in bed to find Steve wrapped tightly around him. He was curled up under a blood red and black quilt, for one. Even his head was covered. It was nice, if a little bit hard to breathe. The warmth he felt emanated from on top of his curled body, though. And whatever it was had some weight to it.

Bucky was so comfortable, however, that he just laid there, not very keen on figuring out what was what.

It wasn’t until he heard a murmur, something low and indistinct followed by a quiet thank you, that he finally stirred.

Pulling the edge of the quilt back just enough to see, he watched through half-lidded eyes as Clint stood back up from leaning over Natasha. The move gave every indication that he’d just given her a kiss on top of her head. Draped across the loveseat with his head in Natasha’s lap was Steve. She had one hand, the one not holding a mug, just in his hair. After only a moment of watching, Steve stirred restlessly. Nat began carding her fingers through his hair, her nails scritching his scalp, and he settled down again without waking.

Pulling the quilt back enough to expose his head and neck, Bucky turned enough to look at whatever was on top of him keeping him warm. It was a golden retriever. His brows drew down in confusion.

But, before he could say a word, Bruce spoke up from the other side of Bucky’s couch, making him jump. “He’s Clint’s dog, Lucky. Said he got him from a man a few buildings down from him.”

Lucky huffed and twitched a bit in his sleep and Bucky’s heart melted a little. The dog was cute in a battered sort of way. Half an ear was missing—ripped off by the looks of it—and one eye was scarred, making him look like he was winking, even with his eyes closed.

Bucky didn’t even try to pretend he was too cool to pet the dog. Within seconds, he had his arm freed and was scratching the furry golden head. Lucky gave a whining-growl and stretched. Bucky couldn’t resist. Wrapping an arm behind Lucky’s front legs, he pulled the dog up so that he could wrap around him, snuggling him under the blanket.

“ _This_ is my kind of party,” Bucky mumbled happily as he drifted back to sleep.

*****

Overall, what had started out as a shitty day had turned out pretty well. Neither Steve or Bucky celebrated the New Year in the traditional sense—kissing at midnight, hugs, or fireworks and cheers. But they both soaked in the feeling of what they had before and after that.

Family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit short. I hope you all liked it though. Drop me a line and tell me what you think. 
> 
> Next up: Valentine's Day


	6. Valentine’s Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is away on a mission. Bucky isn’t very happy about that but he’s resigned himself to spending Valentine’s Day alone. Until Natasha and Clint show up to drag ‘the grumpy single’ out, that is. But, apparently, their idea of ‘out’ is setting Bucky up on a romantic blind date. Surprise…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I am doing my absolute best to not fall asleep sitting here. This has been completed for a while and now it's close enough to Val Day that I'm posting. But because I'm so tired, I did not go over it again. Just copy, paste, post. Let me know if you find any mistakes here.

Bucky was frustrated.

It was Valentine’s Day. It was a day for lovers and loves to go out and be goopy and romantic with each other. It was a day designated for holding hands and showering the one you love most with just _how_ much you love them. And, at the end of it, it was a day to say everything they maybe didn’t always take the time to say, like the sweet, tender words that sometimes got forgotten in the rush of everyday life.

Not that their love had ever been about tender words. Their go-to endearments had always been ‘punk’ and ‘jerk,’ after all. But those had started out as a product of their time. Just like ‘til the end of the line’ was a way to publicly say ‘I love you’ and not get the shit kicked out of them, arrested, or killed.

But, now, it was Valentine’s Day in a modern world that was more accepting of loves like theirs and Bucky was frustrated. Because _Steve wasn’t there_. He’d been away on a mission with Sam for the past two weeks and they weren’t due back for another day or so.

All in all, it wasn’t _horrible_. It wasn’t like it was the end of the world. It wasn’t like they couldn’t celebrate it a few days late. But it was the principle of the thing.

They both showed their love every day, they both knew that they loved each other more than anyone, but Valentine’s Day was the day designated for everyone to really show it. Just like the day after was the day designated to buy a year’s worth of discounted candy before all the full-priced, overly-sweet Easter stuff came out.

A pounding on the front door brought Bucky out of his mopey thoughts.

He knew it wasn’t Steve—because why would Steve knock? So, figuring it was a neighbor in need to something, he got up. Just in case, he slotted his favorite knife in his hidden holster beside his gun.

Looking through the peephole, all he saw was royal purple—someone wearing a hat, maybe. He’d have to talk to Jarvis about upgrading their door to match their security system so that they could actually see who was there. But Bucky was the Winter Soldier. Despite not wearing his armor, he was ready for a fight. And he was damn hard to kill. He opened the door.

Clint stood on the other side, fist raised to knock again, while Nat leaned against the wall off to the side.

Clint blinked. Then he broke out into a grin. “Hi!”

“Uh, hi?” Bucky couldn’t help that it came out like a question. He’d figured the pair would be out on a romantic date or something.

When no one said anything more, Bucky asked, “What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re here to take the grumpy single out!”

While Bucky’s brain got stuck on that response, Clint reached out to grab his arm and pull him out of the apartment. But it wasn’t long before his brain kicked into gear. He held back his advance, his serum making it impossible for Clint to pull him any farther.

“First off,” Bucky said, “Singles Awareness Day isn’t until tomorrow. It’s when I go buy a fuckton of candy, as I’m sure you two will be. Second, I am not in any way dressed to go out. I don’t even have shoes on. Do you really want me out on the streets of New York in mid-February without shoes on?” He widened his eyes guilelessly. “What if I got sick?!”

Natasha snorted at that.

“Third of all, I don’t particularly _want_ to go out.”

A part of Bucky hoped that would be enough to get him out of it but, really, he knew better. And he was right. It didn’t get him out of it. Natasha only stepped away from the wall she’d been gracefully holding up and sauntered past him and into the apartment. “Put on some nice clothes,” she said, “and some shoes. And do your hair. We’ll wait.”

When Bucky didn’t immediately move, even after Clint made his way into the apartment behind Nat and plopped down onto the couch, she raised her eyebrow. “You’ve got twenty minutes, Barnes. Chop chop!”

Bucky knew when to give in. He sighed. It wasn’t like he was doing anything that night anyway. With Steve gone, there was no chance of holiday sex or kissing or cuddling or anything else. So he might as well go out with friends. Maybe they’d get distracted with each other and he’d be able to cut out early.

*****

It wasn’t until they got to the restaurant, a nice place, that Bucky started to get the feeling that he’d been set up.

“Barnes and Romanov,” Natasha told the maître d'.

“Your tables are ready, ma’am,” the man said. Grabbing up two fancy menus, he gave the hint of a bow and headed away, expecting them to follow.

“Tables?” Bucky asked. But the other two ignored him.

When he was seated out of immediate view of his friends, he sat back, utterly resigned to his fate. He was tucked into a cozy, private booth in a small alcove lit by flickering candles. It was obviously meant to be a romantic setting.

He couldn’t even leave because, while Natasha and Clint couldn’t see him while he sat at the table, they weren’t seated very far away. They would definitely notice if he left. Tonight was going to be awful. At least they wouldn’t be able to actively watch him fumble through a blind date with a stranger…

“Uncle Bucky?”

Lost in his glum thoughts, he hadn’t noticed when someone had approached the table. Sloppy. He would definitely have to start paying more attention. Glancing over at his name, he saw—

“Maggie!” He was immediately out of his chair. “What are you doing here, sweetheart?” he murmured as he hugged her close.

“I, um—” She stepped back when he released her and glanced nervously at the table. “I’m here to meet a blind date.”

Of fucking course. Because that was just how his life went.

“At this table?” he asked to double check. She nodded and he sighed. “Might as well sit down. I’m your date.”

Maggie’s face began to turn bright red as she took a seat. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

The waiter came then and they ordered drinks. After he left, Bucky waited.

“I’m— I’m not— I don’t— I—” Maggie teared up the more she tried and failed to push words out. It broke Bucky’s heart.

“Oh, sweetheart.” He reached over and took her hand in his. “I know. We both do. Your dad told us.”

She peeked at him under her wet lashes before focusing on her cloth-rolled silverware.

Bucky squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her. “Hey. Look at me please?”

It took a moment but, eventually, she met his eyes.

“We love you and accept you. The whole family loves and accepts you. There is nothing wrong with being asexual. And there is nothing wrong with wanting to date dames.” Bucky lowered his voice to a soft murmur that he knew would never reach past the table. “Steve and I both know what it’s like to be told what you do or don’t want is wrong. But it’s not wrong. You’re perfect just the way you are.” He waited a beat before adding, “And if anyone ever tries to tell you different or tries to force you to do something you don’t want, you tell me. I’ll take care of it. And you _know_ Steve’ll be lining up right alongside me.”

A few tears slipped down her cheeks even as Maggie laughed a bit wetly. “Thanks, Uncle Buck.”

Leaning back, Bucky pulled out his handkerchief and handed it over as the waiter approached.

Though he tried to hide it, it was obvious from his expression that he’d heard at least the tail end of that. He now knew they were family. His body language was now geared more towards providing a comfortable meal rather than a romantic atmosphere. And, honestly, the change settled the air that much more. Bucky was glad for it. He’d be leaving a large tip for that alone.

They ordered and ate and talked about whatever came up. Eventually, it devolved into Bucky telling stories of the Howlies during the war while Maggie, a SHIELD agent who knew a lot more about that world than the average person, laughed. It was a great way to spend the evening if he couldn’t spend it with Steve.

Eventually, the evening drew to a close, though. Bucky paid and included a three hundred percent tip. He thought it only fair since, being a supersoldier, he ate a lot, they took up the table for far longer than was polite—especially on Valentine’s Day—and their waiter was exceptional. And, anyway, after getting compensated by the government for spending decades as a POW, it wasn’t like Bucky couldn’t afford it.

It was when they reached the sidewalk that Bucky’s phone rang. Checking the ID—blocked—he answered.

“Hey, punk.”

“How’d you know it was me?” Steve sounded really tired. It just made Bucky miss him even more.

“You’re away on a mission and it’s Valentine’s Day. Who else is liable to call me on a burner phone?”

Maggie quietly questioned Bucky and Steve heard. “Are you with someone? I can—”

Bucky interrupted before Steve could offer to hang up. “Clint and Nat came by tonight. They convinced me—made me, really—go out with them. But apparently their plan was to set me up on a surprise blind date.” He exchanged grins with Maggie. “You actually know her. Here. Say hi.”

Bucky passed the phone over and he heard a tinny “Um…” from Steve.

With a wide grin, Maggie said, “Hi, Uncle Steve!”

There was a moment’s pause before Bucky heard great big belly laughs coming from the other end of the line. It took a few minutes before Steve settled down. Finally he took a breath and sighed, calming himself. “Oh, man. Thanks. I really needed that. So, they…”

“Yep!” Maggie chirped happily, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “Agent Barton set me up on a blind date with my—” She turned to Bucky. “What are you? My great-uncle?”

“Uh,” Bucky had to think about it. “You’re Morita’s _great_ -granddaughter. So I think that makes me your…great-great-uncle? Three greats? Fuck, I don’t know! Don’t ask me hard questions, squirt! I’m, like, more than a hundred years old. And half senile.”

This time all three of them laughed. It was really nice.

Afterwards, Steve said, “Well, it was great saying hi, Maggie. We’ll have to catch up after I’m back. But could you hand me back to Bucky, please?”

“Of _course_ I’ll hand you back to my date, Uncle Steve. You’re gonna love ‘im.”

“I already do,” Steve murmured as he was passed back over.

Bucky couldn’t help it when his heart flipped. “Aww,” he teased as soon as he was back on the line again. “That was really sappy.”

“But true.”

Bucky’s voice dropped to a soft tone then, his shoulders losing the last of their tension. “Me too, Stevie.”

They talked for a few minutes but didn’t feel comfortable being completely free with their words. Maggie was family, sure, but she was still standing right there, whether she pretended she wasn’t listening or not. Not to mention that talking on the phone while out with someone was rude.

“Hey,” Bucky said. “You still gonna be awake and able to call me in an hour? I should be home by then.

A chilly wind gusted past and Maggie shivered. Bucky tucked her under his arm and blocked it the best he could.

“Yeah. I—” a yawn interrupted his words. “I’ll call you in an hour.” There was a long silence before, “End of the line?”

Bucky smiled. “Yeah, punk. End of the line.”

Bucky saw Maggie to her door before he headed home himself.

All in all, for not having Steve there, his Valentine’s Day hadn’t been too bad.

*****

“Barton!” Bucky called loudly at his phone, which was lying on his and Steve’s bed where he’d tossed it after hitting dial and activating the speaker.

He slipped into his battle gear quickly and efficiently. Hopefully the mission he’d just received wouldn’t last more than a day. He and Steve had a Mardi Gras party to go to in two.

“How did your date go?” Clint asked, smugly knowing.

“The next time you pressure someone into a blind date, remember four things.” Bucky’s words were a little muffled because he held a ponytail clamped between his teeth but, after gathering his hair up, he pulled it out and continued.

“One, make sure the person actually _wants_ to go on a blind date, not that you’re making them feel that they have no choice but to accept. Two, make sure they actually _like_ the sex that you’re setting them up with. And three, make sure they’re not a part of my goddamned family! You put Maggie into the position of having to tell her uncle—who was raised in the ’20s and ’30s and who she had not personally come out to—that she was ace and only liked women for romantic company. It doesn’t matter that she knew I wouldn’t hate her for it. Do you realize how awful that was for her?”

A normal human wouldn’t have heard Clint’s nervous swallow over the phone. But Bucky was no normal human. Only Steve knew just how abnormal he was, and that was because Steve was the same.

“And…” Clint said hesitantly. “And what’s number four?”

Finished lacing his boots, Bucky started loading down with weapons, a sound he was sure Clint could hear and recognize. Good. Maybe it would drive his point home that much more. To add to it, he lowered his voice dangerously. “If I _ever_ find out you went against any of those three things, you will _not_ like what I do.” He shoved one last gun forcefully into its holster to punctuate his words.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before a slightly panicked ramble began. “Yep! Got it! Loud and clear! I will remember your terrifying warning forever. Thank you! I’m very sorry! Please don’t kill me in my sleep! Good bye!” Then the line went dead.

Bucky grinned a shark’s grin, showing far more teeth than most would find comfortable. Now, it was time to go and get his mission done so he could come home to Steve. They had a party to get to.


	7. Mardi Gras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Tony announces that he’s throwing a masquerade ball for Mardi Gras, the boys decide to plan a secret mission. They will have to be perfect if they want to pull it off without anyone being the wiser. With the help of Gabe and Dum Dum, they’re ready just in time. But will the night go how they think?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few trigger warnings sprinkled into this chapter. Note where to skip and act accordingly if you don’t want to read those parts. It’s not super graphic but not all the things they discuss here are entirely pleasant. (You’ll hit the TWs in the second half of this chapter.)

**Omw. TtEotL**

Steve looked down at the text from Bucky and smiled. Til the End of the Line.

The fact that Bucky was just coming off his day-and-a-half long mission, was most likely tired, and still thought to send those words to Steve filled him with warmth. It didn’t matter how. They’d always done their best to make each other feel loved and cared for, even back when they were kids.

The times Bucky had had his back in a fight, all the times Bucky chose to be with or play with him instead of with the other neighborhood kids, the times he slung an arm around Steve’s shoulders and never treated him as breakable, inferior, or stupid because of his size or sicknesses, it had all made Steve feel like he was Bucky’s person. From the day they’d met. And now that Steve was no longer that sick, fragile kid, Bucky still made him feel that way.

**EotL, Jerk. See you when you get here.**

Steve thought that would be it until Bucky got home but, a minute later, another text came in.

**Still a go on the mission?**

Steve thought about his idea for the Mardi Gras masquerade ball Tony was throwing.

**If you’re willing and up for it, yes.**

**Affirmative. ETA 1hr**

Bucky’s responses had turned quick and to the point, without any of the normal extras they tended to tack on when they could. They seemed more like work-type texts now. Someone must either be talking to him, or able to see his phone.

Steve put his away in his pocket and went back to the bedroom to gather everything they needed.

*****

** 6 weeks earlier **

“I’m having a ball.”

They’d been minding their own business—Steve reading a book and Bucky watching Leverage—when Tony had strolled into the common room and made his sudden announcement. They both looked over and Jarvis paused the show.

“You’re…having a good time?” Bucky questioned hesitantly.

“What? No! I’m having _a ball_.”

“You…” Steve was just as confused as Bucky. “You just said that.”

Tony rolled his eyes hard enough that his brain had to have hurt. “I’m having a _ball_ , a party. Specifically: a masquerade ball.”

There was a long silence where Tony stared at them expectantly. Steve finally asked the obvious question. “Why?”

Tony huffed out an annoyed breath and threw his hands up in the air. “For Mardi Gras!” He didn’t wait for a reply, apparently fed up with their underwhelming responses. He just turned around and left. It left them alone in the common room once again.

There wasn’t much for them to say so Bucky went back to watching his show and Steve turned back to his book. But, instead of continuing to read, he only stared at the page as his mind turned.

“Hey, Buck?” he eventually asked.

“Hmm?” It was an absent hum as Bucky watched a blond woman do some sort of gymnastics routine to get past moving, blue lasers in some sort of vault.

“Do you remember that mission we did in Paris back in ’44?”

“You mean the one where we dressed up as…” The TV pausing again, Bucky finally looked over at him and quirked his eyebrow.

“Um-hmm,” Steve agreed. A grin slowly stretched across his face as a light appeared in Bucky’s eyes.

Bucky tilted his head, a smile hovering around the edges of his lips. “Might be a little tougher now.”

Steve eyed Bucky’s body and thought about it. “If we could figure out something to cover your arm, I think we could manage. I learned a thing or two traveling with the girls in the USO.”

“Did you, now?” A sexy, sly smile slid across Bucky’s face as his eyes roamed Steve’s body. But then he paused, his gaze shooting back up to meet Steve’s. “When is Mardi Gras this year?”

*****

Bucky got a text from Steve as he was about to leave the quinjet telling him that they’d meet at Gabe’s. He said that everything they needed was either already there or being brought over with him so, hopping into the car Jarvis provided, Bucky headed on over.

They’d decided not to get ready at their apartment because it would ruin things if anyone stopped by and saw—a high chance since neither of them had actually confirmed if they would be attending. So they made plans to meet up with their friends at Gabe’s home.

Having been made and fitted by the family’s expert tailor—someone the clan had gone to for years and trusted to keep their secrets—Bucky’s outfit had arrived at Gabe’s nearly ten days ago. Steve’s had shown up just the day before. All they needed now was for Bucky to arrive.

Honestly, he couldn’t wait. Ever since Steve had come up with the costume idea for the ball, Bucky had been excited. It had been a long time since he’d done anything like this. It was going to be a lot of fun. Especially since there was a significantly lower chance that the evening would end with them being shot at or the building exploding around them.

Things would be even better if they managed to fool everyone.

Pulling into the driveway behind Gabe’s modest two-story home, Bucky climbed out of the car. Knowing they were already short on time, he hurried to the door. Ringing the doorbell to announce his arrival, he strode in and locked it behind him.

“Steve?” he called.

“In the back bedroom!”

Bucky took the stairs two at a time and, with swift steps, made it through the door in seconds. Spinning Steve around and sweeping him up in his arms, he gave him a deep, passionate kiss. He ignored the hoots and hollers from the two looky-loos behind them.

Pulling back, Bucky gazed into his eyes.

“Hiya, Buck,” Steve said with a grin, his eyes twinkling with laughter. “Miss me?”

“Two fucking weeks,” Bucky complained on a miserable moan. “ _More than_!” he amended. It had been a fucking long fifteen days. He hugged Steve tight.

“We’re both back now,” Steve murmured, sliding his hand around to hold the back of Bucky’s neck. “And we have a party to get to.”

Bucky perked up. “Right! They’re not gonna know what hit ‘em.”

“That’s the spirit!” Dum Dum cried, clapping his hands once while Gabe just laughed. Following Steve to the bathroom where everything was already set up, the four of them got to work.

*****

In order to play the part successfully, Bucky couldn’t be giving the game away by using his own name. So, having chosen a different one, he walked towards the ballroom on Steve’s arm.

They were an elegant couple.

They both had silver and black lace masks on but Steve was recognizable by the cut of his jaw under it as well as how his black suit accentuated his wide shoulders, trim waist, and muscled thighs.

Bucky, on the other hand, looked utterly different. His silver and black lace mask was paired with a lacy black beaded choker that covered his whole neck—and hid his Adam’s apple from view. He also wore a flawless wig of honey-blond hair that fell two-thirds of the way down his back in styled waves.

Makeup expertly applied by Steve—those skills taught to him by the USO girls and augmented by YouTube tutorials to learn modern styles—changed the contours of his face and expertly lined his contact-colored brown eyes. Professional, tattoo-covering makeup hid all the scars on his shoulders and back, in case it was ever visible beneath his hair, as well as those on his legs. That way he could dance without worry.

And, to finish things off, Bucky’s metal arm was perfectly hidden with a skin-sleeve secretly provided by Jarvis.

But all of that was to hide. It was the dress he wore that was meant to stand out.

His dress was a gorgeous, floor-length black gown, sparking with hidden threads of silver that winked in the room’s lights when he moved. Loose sleeves that flowed to his wrists perfectly camouflaged just how muscled he was. And the long dress, the drape and bunch of fabric across his torso and hips, hid his sharp angles and accentuated the curves they’d added using silicone pads. Everything, including his black and silver slipper shoes, paired perfectly with his mask and lace choker.

And Steve, with one and a half inch lifts in his shoes, made Bucky look shorter than him and, therefore, smaller than his normal six foot frame.

Big, brawny Bucky had been transformed into the mysterious, sexy, curvy Violet. He even walked differently. He walked like Violet, not like Bucky.

It was all perfect. _They_ were perfect. Steve and Violet looked stunning together.

The real test, however, the true test, would be when they came across their friends and family. Would the Avengers see past the disguise? Would they see that it was only a part played?

Bucky took a breath and changed his grip on Steve’s arm, careful not to dislodge his carefully painted nails. Together, they walked into the room.

*****

Steve looked around after five minutes of not having been greeted by anybody. Honestly, with how recognizable he was—with how recognizable he was _supposed_ to be—he’d expected to be approached within a minute. He wondered why they hadn’t been.

Moving over to the wall near the buffet table, Steve murmured, “Jarvis? Where is everybody?” He scanned the room but didn’t see anyone he knew. He knew Bucky did the same, though it looked like he was scanning the food on the buffet table.

“It seems, sir,” Jarvis said just loud enough that only a supersoldier would hear, proving he knew full well who he spoke to, “that Sergeant Barnes was seen texting about a mission and is presumed to have left for it directly after landing. Agents Barton and Romanov headed to his and Captain Rogers’s apartment to, quote, ‘drag Steve’s mopey ass to the party whether he wants to go or not.’ Senior Airman Wilson tried to talk them out of it but they ignored him and went anyway.”

Before Jarvis could say any more, Bucky’s phone vibrated in his beaded lace clutch bag. Taking it out, he murmured, “They’re trying to get past our security. They’ll break through in about eight minutes unless we lock it down.”

Steve felt a spike of annoyance. Why was everyone so determined to try to run their lives for them? It was sporadic but, lately, it had been happening more and more. Did they think that neither of them could manage well enough? Did they think that they weren’t capable of doing for themselves anymore?

“Jarvis, call them and tell them that I’m already here, that there’s no need to break into my place. And, before they get any clever ideas to try to set me up, tell them I already have a date.”

“Right away, sir.” It was only a minute before Jarvis came back with a quiet, “Done.”

Bucky tilted his phone for Steve to see and they watched Nat and Clint, both dressed to the nines, stroll casually away.

And now that that was taken care of… “What about everyone else?” Steve asked.

“Miss Potts is convincing Sir that he should not come to the ball dressed as Iron Man, but to, instead, wear the outfits she picked out for them a month ago. Dr. Banner is in his lab working, ignoring the party entirely.”

Steve thought that sounded like a top notch idea. If they weren’t already committed to successfully pulling off their mission, that’s what he and Buck would be intent on doing.

“And Senior Airman Wilson is in the elevator on his way up.”

Thor still wasn’t on Earth, Steve knew, so he didn’t bother ask his whereabouts.

“Are we telling Sam who I really am?” Bucky asked quietly?

It was something they hadn’t thought to discuss. They should have, Steve realized now. Sam was the one person on the team who knew they were in a relationship. Steve wasn’t all that comfortable with him thinking Steve would cheat on Bucky. So they had two options. Imply that ‘Violet’ was just a friend or tell Sam she was really Bucky.

The elevator dinged. With the ambient noise in the room, Steve only heard it because he was a supersoldier. “Okay. We tell Sam the moment he starts to look worried.”

That, as it turned out, was almost immediately.

Sam stepped into the room and looked around. It was a full fifteen seconds before his eyes lit on them. And the moment they did, his brows drew down. His expression went from confused to suspicious to angry. He made a beeline for them.

“Steve—” he began when he was close enough.

Bucky took a deliberate step forward, subtly placing himself between the two of them. He held his hand out in a delicate move to shake, giving Sam no choice but to take it or be rude. Greeting Sam in a perfect French accent, his voice modulated to sound soft and feminine, he introduced himself as Violet. Then, leaning in as if to give Sam’s cheek a kiss, he murmured in his normal voice, “Happy Mardi Gras, Sam. Do you like my costume?”

Sam drew back and looked at Bucky with wide, bewildered eyes. It almost made Steve laugh.

“Holy hell.” He took in all of Bucky’s appearance and his mouth dropped open a little in shock. Then it snicked shut with a quiet clack of teeth. “Way to almost give a man a heart attack.”

“But that is what I aim for,” Bucky replied silkily, back in Violet’s voice. “Handsome men to fall at my feet before I walk away.”

“Guess it’s a good thing that I’m still standing,” Steve said with a smirk, pulling Bucky close to his side. That earned him a light pat on his cheek, blood red nails rasping lightly against his stubble. It reminded him that Steve, focused entirely on transforming Bucky into Violet, had completely forgotten to shave. The scrape sent a light shiver tingling down his spine.

Leaning ever closer, almost forgetting Sam was standing there, Steve murmured into Bucky’s ear, “Would you like to dance?”

Bucky smiled slow and sexily up at him before taking his hand. Waving a little goodbye to Sam, he let Steve lead them onto the dance floor.

*****

Bucky was content to let Steve lead as they slowly made their way around the dance floor. It was wonderful being held close, dancing cheek to cheek. Steve’s smell approached intoxicating and Bucky lightly pressed a kiss there, careful to make sure he didn’t leave a faint smudge of blood red lipstick.

Being an inch and a half shorter made Bucky feel almost small next to Steve. And, held so close, he felt safe and cherished. He closed his eyes and just felt. He savored the moment, uncaring if anyone saw him so wrapped up in Steve.

Forgoing the proper handholds for this kind of dancing, Bucky slid both arms around Steve’s neck. His clutch was gripped in one hand but he threaded the other into the short hairs at the base of Steve’s scalp. A low purr-like rumble shivered against him from Steve’s chest and he pressed even closer.

“We should do this more often,” Bucky whispered into Steve’s ear. He almost forgot and used his normal voice. Luckily, he caught himself just in time.

“What, dress up?” Steve murmured back. Warm air brushed his ear and it sent another tingle down his spine.

“Dance,” Bucky replied. He did his best to not sound breathless. “I forgot what a good dancer you are.”

“You mean, now that I’m no longer predisposed to step on toes due to two left feet?”

Bucky pulled back enough to look up into Steve’s face and catch his charming half-grin.

“You weren’t that bad when you started out, I’m sure.”

“Oh, I was. Truly. All the coordination of a newborn colt,” Steve chuckled.

Bucky threw back his head and laughed Violet’s husky laugh. The image that Steve’s words brought to mind was as precious as it was funny. Bucky wished he could remember teaching Steve to dance when he was smaller. He’d have to try later, see if something came to back him.

Settling, Steve pulled him close again and they drifted quietly on the strains of music. Bucky closed his eyes and let himself float, reveling in the feeling of complete love and safety found only in the circle of Steve’s arms.

*****

Steve led Bucky off the dance floor after three songs. Buck’s stomach had started rumbling and he wasn’t about to let that stand. It was time for food. Clint met them at the buffet table.

“Rogers,” he said drolly.

“Barton.” Steve imitated Clint’s tone perfectly as he reached for two plates, one for himself and one Bucky, who had his clutch in one hand and Steve’s elbow in the other. “Have fun having a go at mine and Buck’s security?”

Clint only shrugged in a what-can-you-do kind of way, his grin passing it off as ‘just one of those things.’ Then his eyes flicked to Bucky who, for all appearances, was a woman contemplating what to have Steve put on her plate. “You going to introduce me to your date, Rogers?”

Bucky leaned against Steve’s arm, indicating a few different items, and Steve easily acquired what he wanted before adding some food to his own. He filled the plates with cheese, crackers, finger sandwiches, and some fruits and vegetables. Most of it wasn’t really traditional Mardi Gras fare, but it still worked.

Finished, Steve led the way over to a round bar height table lining the wall, grabbing two frozen daiquiris when they passed. Then, setting it all down, he turned to Clint. “Barton, I’d like you to meet my date, Violet. Violet, this is my friend Clint.”

Setting his purse onto the table beside their plates, Bucky turned to Clint. His red-painted lips turned up into a polite, friendly smile as he held his right hand out to shake in the common French style. “Bonsoir. It is a pleasure to meet a friend of Steve’s.”

Even as they shook, Clint’s eyebrows crept towards his hairline. He opened his mouth. Steve had the awful realization that there was a high chance he was going say something ridiculous like congratulating Steve on scoring a date with a hot French babe.

Bucky must’ve thought the same thing because he spoke before Clint could. “Barton…” His tone was considering as he drew the name out, tapping a finger to his pursed lips. “Not _Agent_ Barton,” he said before turning to Steve and finishing with, “who set Maggie up on a date with her uncle a few days ago?”

Clint’s eyes widened at that and he took a half-step back, glancing nervously at Steve. “Um… I, uh, heard my name being called. Over there.” He pointed. “Sorry, got to go! Nice meeting you!” Within a handful of seconds, he was halfway across the room and lost amid the sea of costumed people.

Bucky’s chuckle was pure sin and Steve couldn’t resist it. He crowded him close to the wall and, with his mouth pressed to his ear, whispered, “What a mouth you’ve got on you. We are going to revisit your deviousness later.”

Bucky’s breathing picked up at his words, along with his heart rate, and Steve felt a thrill go through him. But, unfortunately, they were at a party and had to behave. So, with reluctance, he backed up enough for Bucky to approach the table and eat.

*****

They got pulled into conversation by a costumed couple that Jarvis, knowing Bucky’s preference at not being caught unawares, quietly identified as a small-time, pro-veteran politician. Both she and her husband, a Gulf War army vet, volunteered monthly at the VA.

Catching Sam’s eye across the room where he was talking to Natasha and Clint, Bucky did his best to send the message that he should come over and join them. He knew Sam would want to be in on the conversation but also that ‘Violet’ would not be the one to make that call.

Luckily, Sam seemed to understand well enough because he excused himself and headed over.

They spent the next fifteen minutes talking before Steve and Sam set up a meeting between them and the politician that would include Bucky.

When the couple moved on, Sam turned to them. “Just a heads up,” he murmured quietly, his head not moving but his eyes roving the room. “Everyone’s plotting about how to figure out who your mysterious date is.”

Steve let loose a frustrated breath. “I don’t see why they’re so determined lately to stick their noses into mine and Buck’s business. They sprung a surprise blind date on Buck on Valentine’s Day, they went to our apartment today… They seem to think that, because we’re from the ’40s, we’re completely clueless.”

“Just you, I think,” Bucky said, his French accent floating delicately in the air between them. He patted Steve’s chest for the benefit of anyone watching—which was probably all of the Avengers presently in the room, based on what Sam just told them. He lowered his voice so no one but Steve and Sam would hear. “I apparently had game back then.”

Steve snorted out a laugh. “You had game? You flirted only so you could get a date who would let you take them dancing.”

“And it worked very well, too.” The last song ended, then, and Bucky looked at Steve from under his eyelashes. “So how about you and me go dance and show them what game _you’ve_ got?”

A slow smile spread smoothly across Steve’s face. He turned back to Sam. “Guess we’ll be seeing you later, Sam. And thanks for the heads up.”

Bucky took Steve’s arm just as he spied Natasha carving a path towards them through the crowd. Good thing they were headed for the dance floor.

*****

**Note: This is how I imagine Steve and Violet dance this dance:<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyYiO51peVc> (Note that the song in the video isn’t the original song to the dance. You can find that here if you want to see it: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn7YcPQgPDo>)**

Steve hadn’t danced in a really long time. It was fun, especially with Bucky. Most of the time, they were pretty in tune with the other. And it was the same with dancing.

When he’d first started learning, when Bucky had tried to teach him before the serum, he’d been awful. His head was in it, his mind could follow the beat, but he couldn’t make his body move how it was supposed to. But then he’d gotten the serum and, suddenly, it was like his body would do what he’d wanted it to do the whole time. He could finally dance with Bucky.

Except that they couldn’t, really, because they were in the middle of a war. There were no private rooms where no one would see. There were no empty forests where there wasn’t the chance of being discovered or shot at by an enemy soldier.

They’d still found the time to dance a little, though, with a little help from the Howlies. A few would keep watch and everyone could just relax and dance. They’d switch watchers after a while and everyone would get a turn. It was a nice change from playing cards or dice during their downtime.

They were all a family, by then, and no one begrudged how lost Steve and Bucky would become in each other. There were even a few times when one of the guys would start to hum a tune for them, if the area was safe enough.

But now was different. Steve led, for one, since Bucky was dressed as Violet. And, as with dressing similar to that long ago mission, there was far less chance of them getting shot at today.

So Steve led Bucky around the dance floor and it was wonderful. A part of him, the part that was always battle ready, noted how the other dancers either gave them room or stopped to watch. He also saw—and noted that Bucky saw—the team gather to watch as well. Neither particularly cared, though. Steve was having too much fun to care. He watched Bucky’s smile grow and his eyes sparkle behind his contacts.

They spun and swayed with each other. And then Bucky started to put some extra movement into his hips and Steve was mesmerized. He was one lucky bastard to still have the love of his life after all they’d been through. And for the three minutes that the song lasted, Steve let everything else go.

Everything came back in a rush when a smattering of applause started. Steve did his damnedest not to blush but, the way Bucky was gently smiling up at him, he was unsuccessful. He watched his toes as he led them off the dance floor.

“Well, well, Rogers,” Natasha teased. He could feel her eyes on him so he looked up to meet them evenly. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”

Deciding how to play it, he placed a hand gently against his sternum. “I am a man of hidden depths, Romanov.” Then he grinned wickedly, catching a few of them off guard. “Guys, meet my date. Violet,” he turned to Bucky, “Violet, this is some of my family. You’ve met Sam and Clint already. This is Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and Natasha Romanov.”

As he had with Clint, Bucky’s lips turned up into a friendly smile and he held his right hand out to shake in the common French style. “Bonsoir. It is very nice to meet you all.”

Tony’s brows rose at the sound of the thick French accent and he opened his mouth. But Pepper, bless her, was more used to formal greetings with foreigners. Before Tony could say a word, she stepped up and completed the shake, and leaned forward to kiss both of his cheeks, a common French greeting.

Bucky’s face lit up with happiness, as was in keeping with someone who’d been in America for a while and who’d had to become used to not being greeted the same as in their homeland.

Steve couldn’t help but smile down at him. It didn’t matter if it was back during the war or now. Watching Bucky act was like watching art come to life.

Bucky turned his head just a little and winked at him before addressing Tony. “I heard you are one to throw big parties. Is there to be a parade to come through here? In France, the Carnaval de Nice lasts for weeks. It is a good time by all.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Well, actually—”

“No, Tony,” Pepper interrupted. We are not having a spur-of-the-moment Mardi Gras parade come marching through here. You are not allowed to give our security people even more headaches or heart attacks.”

Tony pouted for all of two seconds before grinning. “Maybe next year.”

Pepper just pursed her lips and looked amused.

“So, where did you learn to dance?” Natasha asked Bucky. “That was very well done.”

Bucky thanked her in French, sounding surprised, before answering her question. “I grew up dancing. Nothing professional, of course. My mother taught me. This dance,” Bucky inclined his head towards the dance floor, “Steve showed me on YouTube.”

“I always did like Rita Hayworth and Fred Astaire,” Steve said.

“Son of a bitch, Rogers,” a voice called out from the side. Steve turned and saw Dum Dum walking up to them, a cane gripped in one hand and Maggie holding onto opposite arm. “I haven’t seen you dance like that since—what was it, 1945?”

Steve grinned widely. “That would be ’44.”

“Right, right. That time where you…” He trailed off with a smirking grin.

“No need to rehash old history, Tim,” Steve said with a grin of his own. “Maggie, it’s really good to see you.”

She let go of Dum Dum’s arm and stepped forward to give him a hug. “Hi, Uncle Steve. Sorry I missed Christmas. It was nice talking to you the other day, though. I’m glad you made it home safe.”

When she pulled back, she moved around him to give Bucky a hug. <Good evening, Violet.> She leaned up on her toes to kiss his cheeks. <I hope you’re enjoying your evening with your date.>

<He is very handsome.> Bucky said with feigned seriousness. But there was a teasing glint in his eye that made Dum Dum cackle and Steve grin.

“So, what do you young people do at a bash like this?” Dugan asked the present Avengers. “Do you eat? I seem to recall Jacques regaling us with stories of all kinds of delicious food to be had at Mardi Gras.”

*****

**Note: TW: Bucky gets sick here. If you wish to skip that, skip the part where they’re in the elevator.**

With Dum Dum’s words about Dernier, Bucky felt a shiver streak down his spine. His temples started to throb and his stomach roiled sickeningly.

Fuck.

While everyone else was focused on Dugan, Bucky turned to Steve and, in an almost subvocal whisper, said, “Steve, you have to get me out of here right now.”

Steve turned to him with a question on his face but, the moment their eyes met, Steve knew what was happening. He always knew. “Sure,” he said loud enough that the others might’ve been able to hear had they decided to pay attention. “The bathroom is this way.” Then, with his arm secure around Bucky’s waist subtly giving him support, Steve quickly led him away.

Jarvis must’ve heard Bucky’s words or sensed something off with his biorhythmic readings because, as soon as they exited the ballroom, the elevator down the hall opened noiselessly. Steve hustled him in and they started moving before the doors were even all the way closed.

“Breathe, Buck,” Steve murmured into his ear as he surrounded him with his body. He held Bucky upright, supporting his weight as his hand slid up and down his back. The pressure was soft, at first, but grew as Bucky’s back muscles began to clench and tighten. “We’re almost there, love. Breathe with me.”

Bucky’s brain roared at him and bile rose suddenly in his throat. Forcefully shoving Steve away, making him stagger, Bucky bent at the waist and threw up onto the floor.

He would’ve fallen, then, if Steve hadn’t reached out and caught him before he hit the ground.

His mind swirling with the forgotten past, he only vaguely registered Steve telling Jarvis to text Dugan saying they’d had to leave after ‘Violet’ was finished in the bathroom because Bucky wasn’t feeling well like on Halloween.

He didn’t hear Jarvis’s reply—and didn’t much care—because his stomach pitched again. Steve shifted them so that he added to the sick on the floor instead of coating them both with it.

A tidal wave of thoughts from the past crashed chaotically in his head. Campfires crackled and friends talked and joked. People reminisced about before the war. Gunfire roared, pain flowed, and dust floated silently on the air. Ghostly whispers sounded in the dark.

Bucky passed out.

*****

Fuck. Bucky hadn’t had a memory return like this in about two years. He’d had some bad spells, sure, but this was, by far, the worst it had been in a long time.

Holding his limp body close, and angling his head in case he got sick again while unconscious, Steve asked Jarvis to take them somewhere private.

Jarvis seemed to have already thought of that, though, because it wasn’t even two seconds later that the doors opened into an apartment that he’d never seen before. It was bigger than any of the guest suites they’d been to. It took up most of the level as far as he could tell.

Steve couldn’t care less. It was quiet and devoid of anyone else and that was all that mattered. That was what they needed. He picked Bucky up bridal style and carried him in.

“Lock the elevator down, Jarvis, until it can get cleaned up.”

Then, without another word, he carried Bucky down a hall that he assumed led to at least one bedroom and bathroom.

*****

Bucky started to come to after Steve had undressed them both and carefully settled them into a tubful of hot water scented with smelly stuff that Jarvis had pointed him to and told him was soothing. He’d set about washing the night away and had about half the makeup off when Bucky groaned.

“Hey,” Steve murmured softly into his ear. “You’re safe, Buck. I’ve got you. You had a memory come back real hard but I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

He kept scooping water over Bucky’s neck, shoulders, and chest as he talked, running his hand soothingly up and down his arm after every few scoops.

“You’re gonna be okay. I’m gonna take care of you, love. It’s just you and me here. You’re safe. You can rest.”

And that’s what Bucky did. He mumbled under his breath something about Dernier and food and dust. After a minute or two, he faded into an exhausted sleep.

It worried Steve, without a doubt, but he handled it. He always handled it. Bucky was the one in pain, not him. And Steve would always do what he could for Bucky.

An hour or two later, with Steve carefully cuddling Bucky in the apartment’s large bed, the elevator gave a soft ding to announce its arrival.

“Who is that, Jarvis?” He wasn’t about to let anyone see Bucky this way if he could help it.

He was about to be very annoyed with the A.I. for letting someone in, but Jarvis quickly informed him that it was Dum Dum and Maggie, come to check on Bucky.

Steve made himself take a few calming breaths. It was family, just Dum Dum and Maggie. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the back of Bucky’s neck. _Breathe_ , he told himself.

There was a soft knock on the door and Tim poked his head in. At seeing them lying down, he came in and closed the door. Thankfully, Maggie didn’t follow.

“Did…”

Steve just waited.

Seeming to change his mind about what he was about to say, Dugan eventually asked, “Is he going to be alright?” He sat on the edge of the bed and reached over to slide his fingers gently through Bucky’s hair.

Steve could only sigh at the question. “This is a really bad one. Fuck, Dugan. He passed out. He threw up and then passed out in my arms before we could even make it up here.”

An expression slid across his friend’s face, one that Steve couldn’t quite make out, before he slid a hand tiredly over it. “I think it was something I said,” he whispered. “I think I triggered this.”

“I don’t know, Dum Dum. I just don’t know. It could’ve been you. It could’ve been me. It could’ve been the party. It could’ve been us dressing up like we did for that mission in Paris or something he’d thought or seen or sensed. It could’ve been anything.”

The guilt Steve now recognized in Dugan’s expression didn’t ease with his words so Steve reached a hand out to him. Gripping as tightly as he dared, he said, “This is because of HYDRA, Tim, not because of you or me or Bucky or anyone else. What’s done is done. All we can do is ride it out and deal with whatever comes next.”

“I know,” he murmured as he gazed down at Bucky’s sleeping face. “It doesn’t make it any better, though. I wish…” He took a shaky breath in before he let it out slowly. “I wish we’d been able to look for him after he fell. I wish we could’ve found him before HYDRA did. I wish we could’ve saved him a long time ago.”

Steve closed his eyes as he fought against tears. He lost. “I know. Me too.” It was with a hard swallow that Steve opened his tear-wet eyes again. “But he’s here now. We’re handling it the best we can and that’s all we can do.”

“Will you tell him I’m s—” His voice hitched and his shoulders slumped tiredly. “Tell him I hope he feels better soon.”

Squeezing Dugan’s hand one last time, Steve let go to wrap Bucky back up.

“When he’s up and moving again, you bring him over to us. Me and Gabe, we’ll help you treat him like a king while he rests up and recovers. I don’t know how much we’ll be able to help but we can give soup and support. And we can listen, if that’s what he needs.”

Steve’s eyes watered again as his heart filled up with love. “Thanks, pal. That means an awful lot.”

Bucky moved then and they both watched. He didn’t say a word, barely even opened his eyes, but he slid his hand out.

Dugan, uncaring that it was the metal one, grabbed hold. “Heya, Buck,” he murmured softly.

Bucky mumbled something inarticulate that even Steve couldn’t understand with his enhanced hearing. But it didn’t seem to matter much. Bucky closed his eyes again a second later.

Dum Dum brushed his other hand across Bucky’s forehead, making him sigh softly. Then, leaning down to place a kiss to his temple, Dum Dum whispered, “I’m sorry if I’m the one who triggered you.”

Bucky’s metal hand twitched in an approximation of a reassuring squeeze before he seemed to fall back into sleep.

*****

**Note: TW for the pain and recovery of Bucky remembering things and discussion of a past memory dealing with the rape of a girl from their old neighborhood and the murder of her rapist.**

**If you’d like to skip the first, don’t read this section. Just know that Bucky gets well taken care of. And if you’d like to skip the second, jump forward when Bucky asks Did you… the first time and come back in on Silence followed in a hazy drift after that. Please take care of yourself. **

The following days saw Steve and Bucky staying secluded in the apartment Jarvis had provided. He had food sent up that they didn’t have to prepare and Dum Dum sent along a duffel bag of comfortable clothes he’d gotten from their apartment.

As far as pretty much everyone else was concerned—SHIELD, Avenger, and Howlie alike—Bucky and Steve were unreachable.

Sam, knowing exactly who Violet was, had worried much more than the others at their swift exit. Because of this, he’d been allowed to come up and talk to Steve. But he hadn’t been let back to see Bucky.

Bucky, for his part, spent the days after he finally woke up enduring a migraine that made him extremely sensitive to light and sound, hurting, and irritable with it. When he wasn’t curled up under blankets in the bedroom, he was curled up in Steve’s lap on the couch. The windows stayed blacked out and the lights were turned down as low as they could go.

It was days he spent in misery. Eating and drinking were a chore that Steve had to coax him into, sometimes going as far as spooning broth into him when Bucky couldn’t even move to do it himself. And, since medicine didn’t work for him, the same as it didn’t work for Steve, the only relief came when Steve put him in a hot bath that lulled Bucky to sleep. Bucky spent a lot of hours soaking in a bath.

Eventually, though, his migraine began to slowly recede and he began moving around more. He knew Steve was glad for it. Even if he didn’t say the words, Bucky could tell.

It was a hell of a role reversal from when they’d been growing up. Before the serum, it had always been Steve who was the sick one. It was that knowledge that made it bearable for Bucky now, though. Steve had gone through this for years. He’d made it. Now, Bucky could, too. Bucky had stuck by his side back then just like Steve was by his side now.

_Don’t you die on me, punk. Together forever, that’s what you said. ’Til the end of the line._

“Bucky,” Steve murmured softly. “Can you wake up for me, love?”

Soft fingers trailed through his hair and Bucky opened his eyes. He gazed at Steve for a moment before he moved to place his hand against Steve’s cheek. A beard had grown in, scruffy and unkempt.

Steve turned his head and kissed the center of his palm and it made his heart smile.

“I’ve got some food for you. Do you want me to bring it in here or would you rather eat in the kitchen or living room?”

Bucky tried speaking but his voice cracked and failed. So, instead, he began to push himself up to sitting. Steve quickly reached out to keep him steady but he let Bucky do the majority of the work himself. For that, he was grateful.

And it did take work. Bucky was sweating by the time he made it to his feet, but he did eventually make it. With Steve being his rock, they made their way out to the couch.

Time still felt confused and twisted. It seemed like only seconds before Steve was crouched in front of him with a bowl of something steaming in his hands. Without a word, he offered it up, seeming to know that Bucky wanted to do it himself.

Steve had always wanted to feed himself when he was sick. Maybe that’s how he knew.

Bucky slowly drank spoonful after spoonful of the liquid, not even figuring out what it was.

Memories that had come back over the past days floated through his head. But, instead of the crushing tsunami intent on wreaking havoc like before, this was quieter, the memories lining themselves up into recognizable pieces that he could try to puzzle together.

He didn’t even realize Steve had taken his bowl until the couch dipped beside him. Steve carefully scooped him into his lap and sat him sideways.

After minutes of silent cuddles, Bucky tried again to speak. His voice was rough but understandable after the soothing liquid he’d just consumed. “Did you…”

Steve shifted to look down at him but Bucky didn’t move, just kept his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“Did you…fight a priest?”

Steve let out an almost strangled sound and his arms wrapped more securely around Bucky. “You remember that?”

Bucky closed his eyes. “A lot came back this time.”

“Yeah,” Steve said softly. He cleared his throat. “Yeah I did. I was seventeen and I’d forgotten my jacket in church. Couldn’t afford to lose my one decent jacket so I went back for it. I found Father John in the confessional…” He broke off and Bucky gathered the energy to look up into his stormy eyes. “He’d forced himself on Hester O’Brian. Still had his pants around his ankles. I pulled him out and did my damnedest to kill him with a candelabrum.”

“What happened to her?”

Steve sighed and closed his eyes. “I don’t know. My guess is that she got pregnant because next thing we knew, her family moved away.”

He took a moment to let that sink in and then asked, “What happened to you?”

“My Ma whipped my ass somethin’ fierce. Then I told her why I’d done it and she went out for an hour. We never knew what exactly happened after that but, three days later, the son of a bitch was found beaten to death near the East River. The cops never figured out who did it. We always thought Ma went out and told some of the Pops of the parish, the ones who took their daughters to that church. Figured they took it into their own hands to make sure he would never get the chance to do that to anyone ever again.”

Silence followed in a hazy drift after that. Eventually Bucky broke it with another question.

“Did you intentionally sit your costumed ass on a lit fire?”

Steve gasped, faux-scandalized. “Morita _dared_ me!”

“And cooking breakfast in your shield?”

“We didn’t have a pot big enough,” Steve defended with a smirk. “But we did have farm fresh eggs that someone gave us. And bacon.”

Bucky cracked the smallest of grins. “I fought for days with a growling stomach because all I could smell was that damn bacon.”

“But it was _so_ worth it,” Steve said smugly. “Really, how often did we get fresh meat back then?”

Eventually, Bucky sighed. “Will you help me walk around?”

“Are you sure, Buck? You’re only just starting to feel better.”

“I’ve got to get to it some time. Might as well be now.”

“Okay.” He kissed Bucky’s temple and then helped him stand.

*****

Steve supported Bucky as they slowly walked around the large apartment for a couple hours. By the time Steve led him into the kitchen, Bucky was trembling with the effort but standing taller.

Steve sat him in a chair at the table and went to pull out the simple sandwiches Jarvis had sent up as well as what was left of the soup from Gabe.

“Let’s see if we can’t get some solid food into you, love.”

It was slow going. With how much Bucky had walked, and with how exhausted he still was, they ended up soaking each bite of sandwich in the soup to moisten it up. It made it easier for Bucky to chew and swallow it down. After the sandwich was gone, Steve occasionally helped him steady his spoon as he finished off the soup.

Eventually, Bucky set his utensil down and leaned back in the chair, his eyes closed.

But Bucky had always known him so well. After a while, an eye slitted open and swiveled to look at him. “What?” he asked.

So Steve stopped holding his tongue. He asked the question that had been on his mind for days. “Do you know what happened?”

“I think…” He sighed. “I think it was a buildup, everything from the entire night stacking on top of each other. Dressing up like we did to sneak into that ball in Paris. Dancing together again. Deciding I was going to try to remember teaching you to dance. Being watched by everyone and knowing that no one knew who I was. And then Dugan unintentionally added that final piece. He talked about Dernier telling us about Mardi Gras during the war.”

Fuck. But Steve could just picture it. Any one or two things and it would’ve been fine. Or, if not fine, then at least manageable. But add it all together…

“Everything just…cascaded…all at once. Shot me right into overload. I think everything after was my brain trying to deal with it all.”

“Buck.” He tried to hold back the tears but couldn’t. They slipped out despite his best efforts and he pressed his palms hard against his eyes. He felt Bucky’s hands wrap around his wrists and pull them down.

And then Bucky, the love of his life, the man who’d been his beating heart since they were children, the absolute strongest man he had ever and would ever know, stood up, rounded the table, and gathered him into a hug.

“I got memories back, Stevie,” he whispered into the silence, bending to kiss the top of Steve’s head. “I got a lot of them back this time. They’re mine again.” He paused for a moment before adding with an obvious smile in his voice, “And I now know exactly how many of my toes you broke trying to learn how to dance.”

Steve’s laugh came out in a hiccupping sob. But it was a laugh nonetheless. He wrapped his arms around Bucky’s waist, pulled him between his legs, and held him close.

“Come lay down with me,” Bucky whispered. “I’ll tell you what I remember.”

Bucky’s limbs were really starting to shake, now, from the effort of standing after everything he’d already done today. So, taking a quick second to wipe his eyes with the knuckles of one hand while supporting the other half of his soul with the other, he carefully swept Bucky up into his arms to carry him back to bed.

*****

It was a little more than week and a half after the masquerade ball that Steve and Bucky showed up at Dum Dum’s house outside the city. He and Gabe both met them at the door and hugged Bucky tight.

Bucky knew what he looked like now, how awful he looked. He’d lost too much weight in too short a time and his face looked sickly and gaunt. His body did, too, under his clothes. Steve had evened out his beard that had grown in in that time but Bucky had tried shaving his own a few days before. It hadn’t quite worked out, what with his muscles still weak. Steve had finished the job for him but, after that, Bucky had given up for the next little while. Unfortunately, for the time being, his scruff only served to make him look even worse.

“I’m so sorry, Buck,” Tim murmured shakily in his ear as they hugged. “So sorry.”

Bucky pulled back and met his watery eyes, then reached out and cupped his friend’s face in his hands. “Don’t you be sorry. You, Sir Dum Dum, King of the Lollipops, gave me so many memories back. _Thank you_.”

He gathered Tim back into his arms and held on tight as they both cried.


End file.
